Papal States (1692) 1/2 piastra

Stack's Bowers 2020 ANA sale, lot 21384

This specimen was lot 21384 in Stack's Bowers ANA sale (Las Vegas, August 2020), where it sold for $4,320. The catalog description^[1] noted, "ITALY. Papal States. 1/2 Piastre, 1692 Year II. Rome Mint. Innocent XII. PCGS MS-64 Gold Shield. An intensely alluring near Gem presenting intense luster and a light tone, this piece stands as the finest graded in the PCGS census. The iconography features a pelican plucking at her breast, feeding her young with her blood. From the Jasmine Collection." The image of a pelican feeding her chicks with her blood was a common symbol of piety in medieval times. Real pelicans, of course, feed their chicks with regurgitated fish. This design was used in 1692 and again in 1693 with the pelican facing left (Ber-2240). The mezza piastra was a seldom used denomination.

Recorded mintage: unknown.

Specification: silver.

Catalog reference: Ber-2239, KM-555.

Source:

Cuhaj, George S., and Thomas Michael, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1601-1700, 6th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2014.
Berman, Allen G., Papal Coins, South Salem, NY: Attic Books, 1991.
Francesco Muntoni, Le Monete del Papi e Degli Stati Pontifici, 4 vols. Rome: P & P Santamaria, 1973.
^[1]Orsini, Matt, Richard Ponterio and Kyle Ponterio, The August 2020 ANA Auction: World Coins, featuring the Duke of Lansing Collection, Santa Ana, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2020.

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Papal States (1692) 1/2 piastra

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