In the past, Šibenik was first in many things.
It was also the first city during the Venetian administration to mint its own coins, way back in 1485, when the Council of Nine in Venice approved that it could mint and release coins. This was the Šibenik bagatin, one-twelfth of a Venetian soldo, which was worth 30 Venetian ducats and was in use as a currency for more than two centuries. One side bore the image of St. Mark, patron saint of Venice, while the reverse bore the image of St. Michael (Sv. Mihovil), patron saint of Šibenik. Immediately after Šibenik, the towns of Split, Zadar, Trogir and Hvar began minting their own bagatins.
The bagatin was saved from oblivion in 2008 by Šibenik goldsmith Ljazir Čivljak. He had visited the Bagatin cafe near his shop to closely examine the replica of this coin hanging on the wall in the cafe, and this inspired him to develop a version as a traditional souvenir. Čivljak’s bagatin is somewhat larger than the original and made of silver, unlike the original coins that were minted from copper and brass. In addition to creating this as a stand-alone souvenir, Čivljak has also incorporated the coin into different jewellery pieces, such as necklaces, bracelets and rings.
