Tuscany 1570 1/2 piastra
This specimen was lot 541 in Künker sale 400 (Berlin, February 2024), where it sold for €2,400 (about US$3,114 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"ITALIEN, TOSCANA, Cosimo I. Medici, 1537-1574, als Großherzog von Toscana, 1569-1574. 1/2 Piastra 1570, Florenz. Geharnischtes Brustbild r. mit umgelegtem Mantel//Hl. Johannes der Täufer steht auf Hügel und predigt der um ihn herum stehenden Menge. R Feine Patina, kl. Schrötlingsfehler, sehr schön-vorzüglich. (Italy, grand duchy of Tuscany, Cosimo I Medici, 1537-74, as grand duke, 1569-74, half piastra of 1570, Florence mint. Obverse: armored and mantled bust right; reverse: St. John the Baptist stands on a hill and preaches to the surrounding crowd. Rare, fine patina, minor planchet defects, very fine to extremely fine.)"
Cosimo de Medici (r. 1537-74) was the first grand duke of Tuscany (a title awarded to him in 1569), founding a line that lasted until 1737, when it fell to the Austrians. The Medici had long been the leading family of Florence but never the outright rulers until him.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver, this specimen 15.60 g.
Catalog reference: Montagano 167/2 (R2).
- [1]Künker, Fritz Rudolf, Horst-Rudiger Künker, Ulrich Künker and Andreas Kaiser, Katalog 400: Selected löser of the Dukes of Guelph from the Friedrich Popken Collection | Numismatic treasures from the Medieval and Modern Times, a. o. "multiple portraits" from a Westphalian private collection, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2024.
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