Siena (1450-70) fiorino d'oro Fr-1156
This specimen was lot 2116 in Künker sale 439 (Osnabrück, March 2026), where it sold for €3,200 (about US$4,402 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"ITALIEN, SIENA Republik, 1404-1555. Fiorino d'oro largo o. J. (1450-1470). GOLD. R Vorzüglich. Exemplar der Auktion Hess-Divo 329, Osnabrück 2015, Nr. 459 und der Auktion Fritz Rudolf Künker 283, Osnabrück 2016, Nr. 5845. (Italy, republic of Siena, 1404-1555, undated gold florin, circa 1450-70. Rare, extremely fine.)"
The Republic of Siena, in Tuscany south of the better known city of Florence, survived as an independent city state until her conquest by the grand duke of Tuscany in the mid-1500's, at which time the coinage ended. This florin, introduced about a century after Florence introduced her first florin, was struck unchanged for over a century. The gold coinage of the town is scanty, covering about fifteen types in Friedberg.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 3.5 g, 0.986 fine gold, 22 mm diameter, this specimen 3,51 g.
Catalog reference: Fr-1156; Montagano 523 (R2).
- Friedberg, Arthur L. and Ira S. Friedberg, Gold Coins of the World, From Ancient Times to the Present, 9th ed., Clifton, NJ: Coin and Currency Institute, 2017.
- [1]Künker, Fritz Rudolf, Horst-Rudiger Künker, Ulrich Künker and Andreas Kaiser, Frühjahrs-Auktion 439: Gold Coins from around the world, particularly Denmark, Habsburg, Malta and Saxony | German Coins after 1871 including Coins from the Collection of Jürgen and Erika Schmidt, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2026.
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