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1 Testone - Innocent XI MELIVS EST DARE QVAM ACCIPERE
| Issuer | Papal States |
|---|---|
| Year | 1684-1689 |
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| Orientation | Medal alignment ↑↑ |
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| Obverse description | Central field displays the elaborate papal coat of arms of Innocent XI (Benedetto Odescalchi), comprising a vertically divided shield bearing an eagle displayed in the upper half and a lion passant over a triple-barred fess of chalices in the lower half, the whole surmounted by the papal tiara and flanked by the crossed keys of Saint Peter tied with a cord. The shield is framed by an ornamental wreath of olive branches on either side. The circular Latin legend INNOCENTIVS XI·PONT·MAX· runs along the periphery, interrupted at the base by the pontifical year notation XI·SA, and the entire design is bordered by a bold milled or reeded rim. |
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| Obverse lettering | INNOCENTIVS XI·PONT·MAX· (Translation: Innocent XI Supreme Pontiff) |
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Innocent XI — Benedetto Odescalchi — was beatified in 1956 and remains one of the most fiscally austere popes of the early modern period, having spent much of his pontificate trying to finance a Christian coalition against the Ottoman advance into Central Europe. The motto on this testone, drawn from Acts 20:35, was not decorative piety: Innocent refused nepotism so categorically that he declined to elevate his own relatives to any office, a posture so unusual it drew comment from contemporary observers across Catholic Europe.
His alliance-building culminated in the Holy League of 1684, the year this issue begins — the same coalition that would relieve Vienna and push the Ottomans back from Hungary.