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1 Doppia - Alexander VIII
| Issuer | Papal States |
|---|---|
| Year | 1689 |
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| Shape | Round |
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| Obverse description | Central field displays the papal coat of arms of Alexander VIII, featuring a shield bearing a double-headed eagle on a diagonally divided field, rendered in high relief with fine granular texturing. The shield is surmounted by the papal tiara and flanked by the crossed keys of Saint Peter, the symbols of pontifical authority, with elaborate ribbon work to either side. The circumferential legend runs along the inner border of a finely tooled milled rim, engraved in the refined Baroque style characteristic of the Hamerani workshop. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Alexander VIII — Pietro Ottoboni — was elected in October 1689 at age 79, making him one of the oldest men ever to assume the papacy. His reign lasted barely two years, which constrains the output of his coinage considerably. The Doppia was the prestige gold denomination of the papal mint, issued in limited quantities relative to silver, and surviving examples from this pontificate are materially scarcer than those of longer-reigning contemporaries.
Ottoboni's tenure was marked by aggressive nepotism — he elevated two family members to cardinal within months of election — and by a running conflict with Louis XIV over Gallicanism that his predecessor Innocent XI had left unresolved.