Papal Medals

[JRocco]

Thank you regandon.
Each piece tells a different story. Pick up a copy of "Catalogue of Papal Medal", Spink & Son. This presents a nice summary of these pieces.
Here is a  1569 Italy Papal States Vatican Pope Pius V
Mazio 101
Spink 636
The obverse shows Pope Pius V wearing cope
The reverse shows the Allegorical figure of Peace, cornucopia in her left hand pointing with a seceptre (or torch) in her right hand pointing to treasures.
This piece happens to be the plate coin shown here -  http://www.csun.edu/~hcfll004/PiusV.html


I love the handwork evident in these pieces.
 

[regandon]

Thanks for the info. on the catalog, I'll have to get one.

[JRocco]

Here is a very interesting piece.
It is apparently a mule striking combining a reverse depicting the Battle of Lepanto against the Turks with an obverse depicting Pope Urban VIII. You will notice the reverse shows a very unusual strike especially when compared with the obverse which shows a very strong/sharp strike. I am not sure of the cause. A couple of coin guys have expressed the thought that it is an electrotype, but I do not see any evidence of the joining along the edge of the 2, the obverse and reverse, if it were an electrotype. It has also been suggested that this might possibly be the result of a heat damaged reverse die that might have been put back into service to strike an extra few pieces. I find this more plausible, but I can not say for sure.
This piece is a white medal, probably gilt-pewter, maybe gilt-tin dated 1571
First a little history
The victory at Lepanto is considered the greatest victory in the history of  the Post Roman Latin World. All through Italy, Spain and Latin America, this battle is known to almost everyone, just as the Battle of Midway is known to most Americans. The Spanish Empire would after this Battle be considered the preeminent world power. A position it would hold until the collapse of its European Empire in the 1640′s near the end of the 30 years war. The Turks would not threatened Europe again until the 2nd siege of Vienna in 1683, where they met defeat at the hands of the Polish army. The Islamic world has in fact never recovered from this defeat which marked the end of Islamic advances and the rise of the Western world.
The Spanish and their Italian cousins did a great service to western civilization that day. By stopping cold the Turkish Jiahdists, this gave breathing room for other western nations such as the English, Dutch , French and later on America to rise. They had fulfilled their historical mission and saved the west at a critical time.

The Venetians found an ally in Pope Pius V who declared the campaign against the Turks a holy war and immediately asked all Christians to act united. Letters were sent as far as Poland and Russia, the French king and the Archduke of Austria were asked for support – but the only one who fell into line with the Holy League was Charles V of Spain.


Pius V, 1566-1572. Bronze medal to the victory of Lepanto.

Hence, on October 7th, 1571, 208 Christian galleys met 250 Turkish ships. That moment of the battle is shown on this medal. The Christian fleet comes from the left. The wind swells the canvas and the central ship depicted in the medal’s middle, carries the personification of the faith which holds a cross in the right and the chalice of the Last Supper in the left. Above God the Father is watching the scene – but he is no passive viewer, he actively intervenes. His hands send out beams hitting the enemy ships that consequently sink in heaving sea. The Latin legend interprets the scene: your right, o Lord, has hit the enemy. The battle took place 63 km west of the city of Lepanto; the medallist, however, did not bother with such geographic details: he depicts the circular harbour basin of Lepanto in the background.


Today's view of the Bay of Lepanto.

It is bounded by two impressive corner towers still accessible to the visitor. Some small figures stand to the right on the waterfront and watch the events, terrified.
The Christians’ victory was nothing less than a triumph: after a fierce three-hour combat, 80 galleys of the Turks were scuttled, 130 were captured, and only 40 managed to escape. Lepanto was the last old-style naval battle. Although the canon had long since been invented, and ships carrying that weapon on behalf of Portugal, England and the Netherlands controlled the seven seas, Don John of Austria more or less abandoned that new technology. Outdated and outmoded Spain still clung to the “gentlemanly” art of ramming and scuttling by using a prow, a procedure introduced long ago by the Greeks into the battle at sea. Fortunately, the Ottomans did not master the new technology, either. Otherwise, the Battle of Lepanto would have witness quite a different outcome.

Here is my piece which shows signs if gilding, mostly worn off:

 
Here is an image of a cleaner striking from this reverse die to show an image of a clean strike on what appears to be gilt-bronze.

[regandon]

Thanks for posting this new one. It is very interesting.

[JRocco]

Here is another 1575 Pope Gregory XIII medal to compliment the first medal I posted in this thread.
This is a piece in bronze, the first was a piece in copper. It also celebrates the Anno Santo/Holy Year celebration.
I really like this one.

[regandon]

I do like the rev. design on this one.

[JRocco]

This is a large bronze medal, extremely high relief, measuring 40mm.
It depicts Pope Innocent VII (1404-1406) . Only about 4 different designs were produced featuring Pope Innocent VII possibly because of his short tenure before his death in 1406. Pardon the oily look of these pics, but I was trying to remove some surface contamination with oil as I took these pics many years ago. There is a planchet flaw on the reverse, possibly a strike through.

The obverse of this medal depicts Pope Innocent VII and the reverse shows a pyramidal rock with winds blowing on it. Not very much more info is available regarding this piece.  CNORP indicates that this medal is part of a series of restoration medals created by St Urbain in the late 17th & early 18th centuries. The medal is not in Mazio since that reference considers the series to officially start with Martin V in 1417. CNORP makes note and provides a list of the earlier restorations, but starts the analysis with Martin as well.
This is the only Innocent VII piece I have ever seen.

[JRocco]

Hey guys,
Here is a great example of the detail and craftsmanship in some of these medals.
It is also good to note the difference in a piece like this from approximately the 1870's
to some of the earlier medals shown earlier in this thread. This is a Pope Pius IX showing
Pope Pius IX who was the longest-reigning elected Pope in Church history on the obverse in full tiara.
The tiara is the crown of the papacy. For over a millennium all popes were crowned with a tiara which
is one of the key symbols of the papacy. The reverse depicts Christ talking to the Apostles with the Holy Spirit
symbolized. I am lucky to have such a fine example as this high grade uncirculated piece.

[regandon]

Thanks for posting this one. I've never seen this one before.

[JRocco]

Here is a neat Papal Medal.
This is a Pope Innocent X medal ( 1644-1655 ).
The obverse shows Pope Innocent facing right with tiara.
The reverse shows a view of the fountain in the Cirque des Agonales.
The Piazza Navona, or "Circo Agonale", occupies the spot where once stood the stadium of Domitian, which held up to 30.000 spectators. Shown is the Fountain of the Four Rivers by Bernini. From the times of Domitian on, the place was used almost exclusively for sports events, including the famous August regatta in which the participants wore the colours of the nobles and the civic clergy. Even now the feast of the Befana (January sixth) is celebrated there with a typical market.
But the real attraction of the square is the famous Fountain of the Four Rivers by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, dated 1651, and thanks to which the artist gained the admiration and protection of the Pope then in office, Innocent X. The rivers represented in the fountain are the Danube, the Ganges, the Nile and the Rio de la Plata. They are arranged on a steep rocky reef from which a Roman obelisk taken from the Circus of Maxentius daringly rises up into the air.
Here is a view as seen today.

Ordered by Innocent X after many intrigues between arch-rivals Bernini and Borromini, this was such an expensive piece of works, taxes had to be levied on bread (which prompted such reactions from the Romans: We need something else than spires and fountains. We want bread: bread, bread, bread).
The church of S. Agnese in Agone, is built on the spot where, according to tradition, the virgin Agnese, denuded before her martyrdom, was mantled in her hair, which had grown miraculously to cover her. It is a magnificent Baroque building designed by G. Rainaldi and Borromini. Beneath it are some remains of the original church and of the Circus of Domitian.