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1/2 Groschen - Jules III Alexandre Farnèse Legate
| Issuer | Comtat Venaissin |
|---|---|
| Year | 1550-1555 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1/2 Groschen (1⁄40) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | A plain cross pattée divides the reverse field into four quarters, each containing a papal key — the crossed keys of Saint Peter, emblematic of the Holy See's temporal authority over the Comtat Venaissin. The surrounding Latin legend, distributed around the periphery, identifies the Cardinal Legate of Avignon. The die work is characteristic of mid-sixteenth-century hammered billon coinage struck under legatine authority. |
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| Additional information |
Jules III — Giovanni Maria Ciocchi del Monte — appointed Alessandro Farnese the Younger as papal legate to Avignon and the Comtat Venaissin in 1550, a posting that came with the unusual privilege of issuing coinage in the legate's own name. Farnese held the position until 1553, making the attribution window tighter than the catalogue range suggests. The billon issues from Avignon under legates of this period are notoriously difficult to assign precisely, as the Carpentras and Avignon workshops operated with considerable autonomy from Roman oversight.