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1 Testone - Innocent XI MELIVS EST DARE QVAM ACCIPERE
| Issuer | Papal States |
|---|---|
| Year | 1684-1689 |
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| Reference(s) | MIR#2035/54, Munt#67, Berman#2102 |
| Obverse description | Central field displays the papal arms of Innocent XI — a shield bearing an eagle in the upper half and a rampant lion in the lower half, surmounted by the papal tiara and the crossed keys of Saint Peter. The shield is flanked on either side by elegantly rendered palm branches that frame the composition. The circular legend reads INNOCENTIVS XI PONT MAX, distributed around the periphery in crisp Roman capitals. The overall heraldic design is characteristic of late 17th-century Baroque papal coinage, with fine relief work on the tiara and keys. |
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| Obverse lettering | INNOCENTIVS XI·PONT·MAX· (Translation: Innocent XI Supreme Pontiff) |
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| Additional information |
Innocent XI — Benedetto Odescalchi — was elected in 1676 after reportedly bribing no one, a distinction remarkable enough that contemporaries noted it. His pontificate was defined by fiscal austerity and an obsessive campaign against nepotism; he refused to appoint relatives to paid positions and forced the Curia to operate on drastically reduced budgets. The motto on this testone, drawn from Acts 20:35, was not decorative piety — it was a statement of governing philosophy from a pope who genuinely lived it.
He died in 1689 and was beatified in 1956. His canonization cause stalled partly over his earlier refusal to support the Habsburgs against the Ottomans at Vienna — a political calculation history judged harshly before reversing itself.