Siena 1550 scudo d'oro Fr-1161
This specimen was lot 5034 in Künker sale 354 (Osnabruck, Germany, September 2021), where it sold for €6,500 (about US$9,046 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"ITALIEN, SIENA, Republik, 1404-1555. Scudo d'oro 1550. + · SENA · VETVS · CIVI - Münzmeisterzeichen A in Kreis (Münzmeister Agnolo Fraschini, Münzmeister in Siena 1548-1555) - TAS · VIRGINIS · Die Wölfin säugt Romulus und Remus, im Abschnitt die Jahreszahl 1550//q · ALPHA · ET · ω · PRINCIPIVM · ET · FINIS · Verziertes Kreuz. Fr-1161; Montagano 559/3 (R4). GOLD. Von großer Seltenheit. Attraktives, sehr schönes Exemplar. Exemplar der Garrett Collection Part II, Bank Leu AG/Numismatic Fine Arts, Zürich 1984, Nr. 1233. (Italy, republic of Siena, 1404-1555, gold scudo of 1550. Obverse: the she-wolf nurses Romulus and Remus, date below; reverse: floriate cross. Extremely rare, attractive, very fine example, from the Garrett Collection.)"
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. The scudo d'oro originally matched the ducat in size and fineness but shrank slightly towards the end of the series. Undated ones were struck for many decades (Fr-1160) but dated examples are known only for 1548-54.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 3.25 g, 0.917 fine gold, this specimen 3.35 g.
Catalog reference: KM YB26, Bitkin 7; Fr-165; Schl. 160.
- 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, Künker Auktion 354: Munzen und Medaillen aus Mittelalter und Neuzeit u. a. Braunschweig-Luneburg. Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2021.
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