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1 Ducat - Leo X
| Issuer | Bologna (Papal States) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1514-1521 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 3.44 g |
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| Obverse description | Central shield bearing the Medici arms (six balls, or palle, arranged in the characteristic Medici pattern) surmounted by the papal tiara with crossed keys, all enclosed within an ornate cartouche flanked by papal insignia. The shield is rendered in the Renaissance heraldic style typical of Papal State coinage of the early sixteenth century. A beaded inner border frames the design, with the circular Latin legend distributed around the periphery. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | ٠LEO٠PAPA٠DECIMVS٠ (Translation: Leo 10th Pope) |
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| Additional information |
Leo X — born Giovanni de' Medici — governed Bologna through a series of papal legates after Julius II had wrested the city from the Bentivoglio family in 1506. The Bentivoglio had held Bologna for nearly a century, and their expulsion left a power vacuum that the papacy filled administratively rather than dynastically. Bologna's mint operated under close curial supervision during Leo's pontificate, producing ducats that circulated alongside Florentine issues in a region where Medici commercial networks still ran deep.
Leo's reign ended with his death in December 1521, almost certainly from pneumonia, though contemporaries suspected poison.