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1 Testone - Innocent XI MELIVS EST DARE QVAM ACCIPERE
| Issuer | Papal States |
|---|---|
| Year | 1685 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 9.14 g |
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| Obverse description | Papal coat of arms of Innocent XI centrally displayed, surmounted by the papal tiara (triregnum) and flanked by the crossed keys of Saint Peter — one key in gold and one in silver — tied with a cord. The shield is quartered and features a displayed eagle in the upper half and a passant lion in the lower half, with a horizontal bar below, all characteristic of the Odescalchi family arms. The heraldic composition fills the field with bold relief typical of late seventeenth-century Roman minting, bordered by a finely milled outer rim. |
|---|---|
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| Obverse lettering | ·INNOCEN·XI· ·PONT·M·A·IX· (Translation: Innocent 11th Supreme Pontiff Year 9) |
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| Additional information |
Innocent XI is better remembered for bankrupting Louis XIV's ambitions than for his coinage. His refusal to support French Gallicanism and his backing of the Holy League that broke Ottoman power at Vienna in 1683 defined a pontificate of unusual geopolitical consequence for a man who reportedly accepted the papacy with genuine reluctance. The motto on this testone — "it is better to give than to receive" — was no accident of piety; Innocent XI was personally austere to a degree that caused friction within his own curia, cutting lavish papal expenditures and redirecting funds toward anti-Ottoman coalition building.
He was beatified in 1956.