Papal States 1589 piastra Dav-8329

Künker sale 293, lot 2018

This specimen was lot 2018 in Künker sale 293 (Osnabruck, Germany, July 2017), where it sold for €3,000 (about US$4,044 including buyer's fees). The catalog description^[1] noted,

"ITALIEN, KIRCHENSTAAT/VATIKAN, Sixtus V. 1585-1590. Piastra AN V/1589, Rom. RR Kl. Henkelspur, sehr schönes Exemplar. Erworben im März 1959 von P. & P. Santamaria, Rom. (Papal States, Sixtus V, 1585-90, piastria of 1589, Rome mint. Rare, mount mark, very fine example.)"

Silver piastri are popular with collectors not only for their Catholic associations but also the extraordinarily vivid portraits of the various popes, including Sixtus V (1585-90) shown here. Davenport lists Dav-8328 thru Dav-8334 for 1588; despite this profusion, all are scarce to rare. On the reverse, St. Francis receives the stigmata from heaven.

Recorded mintage: unknown but rare.

Specification: 31.99 g, 0.917 fine silver.

Catalog reference: Muntoni 7 a Var. I, Dav-8329, Ber-1313.

Source:

• Berman, Allen G., Papal Coins, South Salem, NY: Attic Books, 1991.
• Davenport, John S., European Crowns, 1484-1600, Frankfurt: Numismatischer Verlag, 1977.
• Francesco Muntoni, Le Monete del Papi e Degli Stati Pontifici, 4 vols. Rome: P & P Santamaria, 1973.
• ^[1]Künker Münzauktionen und Goldhandel, Katalog 293: Münzen aus Mittelalter und Neuzeit u. a. die westfälischen Privatsammlungen Werner Bröker und Bernd Terletzki, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2017.

Link to:

• (1585-90) doppia, Bologna mint
• 1586 scudo d'oro, Ancona mint
• (1587-89) testone, Roma standing, PVBLICE QVIETIS PARENS
• 1588 scudo d'argento, Ancona mint, Sixtus V
• 1588 piastra
• (1588) testone
• 1620-FR piastra, Ferrara mint
• Coins and currency dated 1589
• return to coins of the Papal States