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St Peters

I am reading Rita Scotti's book: Basilica The Splendor and the Scandal : the building of St Peter's which is a pretty good read for anyone interested in the topic, Julius II or early 16th century Italy/Papal States. Here's a nifty "little" medal featuring the interior of the Basilica.

Its from the reign of Pius IX; there is also another similar sized medal featuring the interior of St Pauls "outside the walls." This 1869 82mm silver medal is from the Triton V sale (which I bought subsequently at at reduced price). The medal is 8 mm thick and the deepest part of the reverse is aligned with the large, but very simple obverse to provide adequete metal for the details of the structure.

Generally I find the coins of this pope fairly boring and utilitarian; not so with the medals which continued interesting types until his death in 1878.

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Always interested in St Louis MO & IL metro area and Evansville IN national bank notes and Vatican/papal states coins and medals!

Comments

  • UdoUdo Posts: 984 ✭✭
    I think I've seen this one or a similar one before.

    Awesome medal image
    imageimage
  • IosephusIosephus Posts: 872 ✭✭✭
    Great medal! I have to find one of those myself, one of these days.

  • Wow!
    How do you suppose they got the floor on that reverse to look just like terrazzo or marble?
    Mirabile dictu!
    I never pay too much for my tokens...but every now and then I may buy them too soon.

    Proud (but humbled) "You Suck" Designee, February 2010.
  • cachemancacheman Posts: 3,111 ✭✭✭


    << <i>I think I've seen this one or a similar one before.

    Awesome medal image >>



    Yeah, someone here had one of these several years ago that he wanted to sell. It was a lead-filled, bronze galvano though. Silver is much nicer...image
  • laurentyvanlaurentyvan Posts: 4,243 ✭✭✭
    Yeah, someone here had one of these several years ago that he wanted to sell. It was a lead-filled, bronze galvano though. Silver is much nicer...

    Well the galvano we saw had nice colors though... and I'm not convinced it was the same medal as this. Perhaps very similar but not the same. I thought an arch lead to a space which lead to a different inner chamber.

    Not a problem because someone on this forum is going to be able to resurrect it.image
    One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics
    is that you end up being governed by inferiors. – Plato
  • Silvereagle82Silvereagle82 Posts: 1,219 ✭✭✭
    Seems like i've seen this in gold
  • STLNATSSTLNATS Posts: 1,597 ✭✭✭
    Here's a different view, but in bronze with a few knocks. As I recall it was fairly inexpensive and is certainly a fine "hole filler" until/if a better one comes my way. Despite the date on the reverse (1864) the obverse is dated year 29 or 1875.

    image

    I thought that the one posted before was of the other type I mentioned before (St Pauls outside the walls) but frankly don't recall. I haven't seen these but in AE and AR; AV would be very impressive and would weigh a ton!

    These big boys are "extraordinary" issues, meaning that they were ad hoc issues and not part of the "annual" series. Similiar interior views were used for several of the 44mm annual medals for Pius' years 23 and 27 to 29. These are impressive also, but don't have the depth of field.

    image
    Always interested in St Louis MO & IL metro area and Evansville IN national bank notes and Vatican/papal states coins and medals!
  • lordmarcovanlordmarcovan Posts: 43,194 ✭✭✭✭✭
    You could really get lost inside the detail of some of those cathedral-interior designs.

    Explore collections of lordmarcovan on CollecOnline, management, safe-keeping, sharing and valuation solution for art piece and collectibles.
  • StorkStork Posts: 5,205 ✭✭✭✭✭
    JRocco had it and I confess I secretly became a temporary owner of it. I had Solid build a custom displaythat rotated on a vertical axis given them medallic orientation. It really didn't fit anything else I collect, so I sold it to someone who has gone Yeti for a Really Long Time.

    image

    image

    image

    Though I regretted buying it a little given it's lack of belonging with my usual items, I have also regretted selling it as it was totally cool. But it went to someone well able to appreciate it! I just had zero interest in any other pope medals and the architectural medals--though fascinating--are one too many 'themes' for me. The closest I have gotten are a couple of the more modern Vatican coins that have the Charity figure (lady and kiddos) on the reverse.

    Cathy


    BTW I highy recommend the work that Solid did on this custom display--excellent materials, craftmanship and attention to detail.

  • STLNATSSTLNATS Posts: 1,597 ✭✭✭
    How do you suppose they got the floor on that reverse to look just like terrazzo or marble?

    At first I was going to say that I got lucky on my pic. After looking at the medal again, the pic is pretty close to what you see. The floor is more litely toned than the rest of the medal and actually has details of the floor design. It must have been a nightmare striking these babies.

    Lovely medal Stork. Hope it went to a good home..... That is Mazio 731 and is indeed St Pauls (as is my AE now that I look at it again).

    image
    Always interested in St Louis MO & IL metro area and Evansville IN national bank notes and Vatican/papal states coins and medals!
  • theboz11theboz11 Posts: 6,576 ✭✭✭
    Beautiful piece in either copper or silver. Are we getting more Farside converts?image
  • laurentyvanlaurentyvan Posts: 4,243 ✭✭✭
    Stork, absolutely gorgeous but not what we saw originally, I think.
    One of the penalties for refusing to participate in politics
    is that you end up being governed by inferiors. – Plato
  • cachemancacheman Posts: 3,111 ✭✭✭


    << <i>Stork, absolutely gorgeous but not what we saw originally, I think. >>



    Yes it is...see the rim ding at 10:30? That's where I saw the galvano coupling starting to come apart when I asked for close-ups of the ding. I considered purchasing the piece until I saw this and then I chose to pass it up. BTW Stork, it wouldn't have fit my collecting strategy either image
  • My what a beauty!
    Can anybody tell me the how much this beauties are going for? Thanks.

    ~
  • StorkStork Posts: 5,205 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>the rim ding at 10:30? That's where I saw the galvano coupling starting to come apart >>


    It's the same one image

    I kept looking at it and thinking it belonged in a collection more suited to it. Or a museum considering the amazing detail it had. imageimageimage

  • STLNATSSTLNATS Posts: 1,597 ✭✭✭
    Can anybody tell me the how much this beauties are going for? Thanks.

    Unless I missed it, there's no priced catelogue for these and you have to go by auctions. price lists, etc. And, these big guys don't change hands everyday (unlike the Mazio restrikes you see all the time on ebay). With that caveat, my silver medal was lot 2389 in the 2002 Triton V auction. It hammered at $1100 + 15%; I bought it later from the auction winner that year at about a third less than what it'd hammered. Go figure.

    A very nice AE medal like that of Storks was sold in the same auction as part of a 4 piece lot; the lot also hammered at $1100 + 15% (for all 4 pieces). The other medals in the lot were smaller, less impressive medal and I'd guess that the big guy would have been worth 40-60% of the hammer.

    The market is a lot stronger than 5 years ago, in part because of a weaker $, so prices at these levels would be a good floor for pricing, I think.


    image
    Always interested in St Louis MO & IL metro area and Evansville IN national bank notes and Vatican/papal states coins and medals!
  • Thank you STLNATS that helps a lot.image

    ~
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