Papal Medals

[JRocco]

Here is a nice summary as written by Adolfo Modesti, one of the guru's in the field.

"The medal in the modern sense of the term is an artistic creation of the Italian Renaissance: one of the most simple and delightful original works of art and culture, designed to celebrate or commemorate figures or events, whether important or little known. The medal is a synthesis of sophisticated culture, given its recourse to symbolic, allegorical and mythological figures, illustrating in fairly limited space stories and events that are sometimes complex, and given the use of Latin in the pithy and succinct inscriptions. The medal is also an extremely important historical document because of its celebratory and commemorative functions, able to transmit images, faces, names, dates and information about people and events in different centuries in all sorts of different styles. The Popes were well aware of the significance and properties of the medal, of which they made great use from the XVI century on, to celebrate and rescue from oblivion the most important events of their Pontificate. And so it is that today the papal medals make up a continual series without equals among the medals that have been stamped in various periods by the great figures, dynasties and institutions of every country. They are of enormous importance, both historical and artistic: they document almost five and a half centuries of the history of the Church."

Let me add here that Papal medals not only interest me, they have the ability to take me away to a different time and place. A time steeped in real history and world events.
As described by Spink & Son in "The Catalogue of Papal Medals" you can divide the whole of these medals into two classes, --the "authentic", that is, those which were executed by artists who were contemporary with the events commemorated, and in which the likeness of the Pontiff is taken from life; and the artistic, or those which the artist, assisted by the archaeologist, produces as the only attainable representation of what a contemporary artist should have done, if such an one had lived, and the opportunity been afforded him of executing his work.

Wow that was a lot....I think I am going to get a beer.

I would love to add a few of the pieces in my collection with a brief comment if and when I can. Most of the pieces are 18th and 19th century re-strikes while a few are original, authentic pieces.
I will copy and paste some of these write up's that I may have posted in various threads on various boards through the years.

Here is a 1575 Papal Medal of Pope Gregory XIII.
This is an original piece from 1575 and not a re-strike.
This is the "Anno Santo/Holy Year" Issue
It is made of copper and measures 32mm (just smaller than a silver dollar). The obverse shows Pope Gregory XIII and the reverse shows the "Holy Year" Door which is opened only one year of every 25 years.



I often talk about how tough it was in our mint back in the early 1800's punching coins on a screw press, imagine what a bear it must have been back in 1575, in Italy, trying to punch this large copper. You can see the hand work involved as everything here was hand punched. This one is a true gem and is in excellent condition.
I would have a hard time trying to value this piece.

[coinsarefun]

I'm so glad to see your Papal medals posted here
I hope everyone enjoys seeing them as much as I do



And welcome to the forum JRocco

[Deagle74]

  JRocco - wow very nice papal piece u got there!!
I know Pope Gregory XIII especially because of his reformation of the calendar (Gregorian calendar). Very cool history item 



Rok

[JRocco]

Hey guys, thanks for the warm welcome.
Great site Stef. I know you know how much I love these pieces and I guess it will be evident the more I post.
Here is a beautiful Pius IX. I will show some close-up views to display the true artistry and detail in this piece.
This bronze medal is huge which helps to be able to include such detail. You can darn near walk into the reverse of this one when you are holding it in hand. It measures 82 mm in diameter and 8-9 mm in thickness and weighs about a pound.
Edited to add - I have a light coating of oil on this one to help with her long term conservation.

"Consecration of the Restored Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls
Obverse: Bust of Pius IX facing left, wearing zucchetto, mozzetta, and decorative stole. Around, PIVS IX PONT · MAX ·. Below, I · BIANCHI F ·.
Reverse: Interior view of the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, looking down the central nave towards the apse. Around the border, PIVS · IX · P · M · BASILICAM · PAVLI · APOST · AB · INCENDIO · REFECTAM · SOLEMNI · RITV · CONSECRAVIT · IV · ID · DEC · MDCCCLIV. In exergue, AL · POLETTI · ARCH · INV ·. At the base of the floor, I · BIANCHI · FECIT ·.

Medal issued to commemorate the consecration of the Basilica of Saint Paul by Pius IX in 1854 and was created by Giuseppe Bianchi. The reverse of the medal features a stunning three-dimensional engraving of the central nave of the reconstructed basilica. The architect of the reconstruction, Luigi Poletti, is mentioned on the reverse in the exergue inscription. The date of the consecration (December 10, 1854) is provided on the reverse using the Julian calendar (IV · ID · DEC · MDCCCLIV). The reverse inscription can be translated as "Basilica of the Apostle Paul, from the Fire to Solemnity by the Ceremony of Consecration".

Historical Background: The Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls was nearly completely destroyed by a fire on July 15, 1823. It is believed that the fire was caused by a negligent workman repairing the lead on the basilica's roof. The reconstruction was a major event, with various countries contributing. The basilica reopened in 1840, but was not fully completed until 1931 when the central bronze doors were installed. The transept was consecrated during the 1840 reopening by the current pontiff, Gregory XVI. The basilica as a whole was not consecrated until December 10, 1854 by Pius IX. The reconstruction work was begun under Pasquale Belli and completed under Luigi Poletti. Unfortunately, during the reconstruction, much of the original basilica and frescoes were lost. "
Obverse



Reverse



 

[coinsarefun]

It always amazes me, the detail of these wonderful medals. thanks for posting another one

[JRocco]

Thanks Stef.
This medal is a first year issue of Pope Clement XII (1730-1740) This is dated the year it was made, 1730.
It is 30 mm and shows Clement XII on the obverse wearing Tiara and cope and justice is personified on the reverse with an allegorical figure holding scales in her right hand and a palm branch in her left.
If you look carefully you can see the designers name "Hameriani" punched on the rim on the reverse. The Hameriani's were the family that dominated papal medals in the 1700's.
Mazio 432
Spink 1764


Look at the relief on this  piece.

[coinsarefun]

The relief is amazing, granted 30 mm is large but its not that large.
And all the design and high relief is wonderful

[JRocco]

I agree Stef it is wonderful.
Here is another Pope Clement XII, this piece was done a few years later in 1737
The obverse shows a slightly different rendering of the Pope, but it still captures that nice grumpy look.
The reverse shows a view of the Palace of the Consulate on Mount Quirinal.
The Quirinal Palace was the summer residence of the Popes before it became the home of the kings—and later the presidents—of united Italy.
Here is a rendering pic of how it looked then

And how it looks now

[JRocco]

This piece will fit in right here following the Pope Benedict XII medal showing the Palace on Mount Quirinal.
Here is a 19th century restrike of a 1590 Pope Sixtus V medal. It is dated 1590 (AN VI) and is a really nice high relief piece.

The obverse shows Pope Sixtus V in high relief while the reverse shows a beautiful rendition of The two horses of the Quirinal,  with the fountain between. Let me give a real quick explanation.
The Quirinale hill used to be called Montecavallo (Horse Hill) due to the presence of the large marble statues of the Dioscuri twins and their horses. The twins are the great horseman Castor and the formidable boxer Pollux, sons of Leda and Zeus and brothers of Helen of Troy.





I am sure that the artists were a little free to be well...artistic and hence this is their depiction I guess.
Here is what the scene looked like back in 1590.

Then..let me quote this:
"Domenico Fontana had the statutes restored and dragged to the center of the piazza; he then turned them to the right and placed his fountain right below them. In 1782, Pope Pio VI Braschi decided to refurbish the piazza. The statues were separated, turned around one more time to form a 90 degree angle. One of the two obelisks that belonged to Emperor Cesare Augusto's mausoleum was erected between the statues. The old fountain was removed and was never seen again."
Leading to a picture of the statue in the Plaza today...

[JRocco]

This is a beautiful Pope Paul III Papal Medal.
I believe that this is listed as Spink # 498.
This is a tough one to find.
What amazes me the most about this piece is it was minted in the late 1700's but look at the condition of the medal. It is a really high grade uncirculated large medal. How the heck could a piece of this size and weight have been kept so pristine during the entire 1800 and 1900 periods is a mystery to me. I did purchase this medal from a collector across the pond in the Old World.

This is a large 40mm bronze piece.
The reverse shows the nude figure of Ganymede along with an eagle.
The story goes that Zeus fell in love with the young Ganymede. Zeus then came down in the form of an eagle or sent an eagle to carry Ganymede to Mount Olympus where Ganymede became cupbearer to the gods. Fascinating stuff on a mid 16th century Papal Medal. This is a restrike done in the late 18th century.

I really like this piece. The medal is done with enough detail as to show the furrows on Pope Paul's forehead.
Look at the eagle detail.
This is great stuff.