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1 Testone - Innocent XI MELIVS EST DARE QVAM ACCIPERE
| Issuer | Papal States |
|---|---|
| Year | 1684-1689 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse lettering | MELIVS EST٠DARE QVAM ACCIPERE (Translation: It is better to give than to receive) |
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| Additional information |
Innocent XI — born Benedetto Odescalchi — was elected pope in 1676 after a conclave deadlocked for two months, and he spent his pontificate in near-constant financial and political friction. He refused Louis XIV's claim to appoint French bishops, triggering the Gallican crisis that pushed France to the edge of schism. The motto on this testone, drawn from Acts 20:35, was not incidental piety — Innocent was known for aggressive charitable spending and personally austere habits, reportedly sleeping on a simple cot and eating one meal daily.
He was beatified in 1956, one of very few popes of his century to receive that distinction.