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1 Scudo d'Oro - Sixtus V
| Issuer | Papal States |
|---|---|
| Year | 1587-1588 |
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| Orientation | Medal alignment ↑↑ |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | The reverse presents a dignified bearded bust of Christ as Salvator Mundi in left profile, with long flowing hair and a nimbus cross radiating from behind the head, rendered in fine relief against a plain field. The drapery at the truncation is loosely indicated, conveying a solemn devotional character consistent with Counter-Reformation papal iconography. The encircling Latin legend SALVATOR MVNDI, meaning Savior of the World, is distributed around the periphery, punctuated by small star-shaped stops. The imagery reflects the strong Christological devotion promoted during the pontificate of Sixtus V. The hammered flan shows characteristic irregularities typical of hand-struck gold coinage of the period. |
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| Additional information |
Felice Peretti's pontificate as Sixtus V lasted only five years, but his fiscal reorganization of the Papal States was aggressive enough to leave the treasury with a genuine surplus — a near-unprecedented condition for Rome at the time. He achieved this partly by selling venal offices on an industrial scale and by restructuring the Monte della Pietà, the state lending institution. The scudo d'oro issues of his reign reflect that brief solvency rather than the chronic deficit financing that plagued most of his predecessors and successors.
Berman 1310 distinguishes this type within a pontificate that produced several scudo varieties across different years.