Coins of the World

Italy, BARI, Basilica of St Nicholas, 12th-13th century, uniface lead pilgrim’s badge, St Nicholas facing beneath arch, wearing pall, s n at sides, 40 x 29mm, 11.11g. Broken at top left, otherwise in good condition £500-600

St Nicholas (270-347) was bishop of Myra in Asia Minor. Renowned for his generosity and kindness, and known for his secret gift-giving, he is the model for our modern Santa Claus. His relics were surreptitiously moved from Myra to Bari in 1087 and the basilica which housed them became a major point of pilgrimage in the Middle Ages