Anyone know of this Pope Sergius ll ( 844-847) medal?

JRocco

I do not have the references available to me to find out much about this medal.
It appears to be a bronze piece measuring 40mm.
Any and all info would be greatly appreciated.

Iosephus

Judging by CNORP Vol. 1 and my crude attempts at looking at pictures and blindly staring at lots of Italian words, it's a "restitution" medal created around the second half of the 16th century, when a whole series was created for the earlier popes. Evidently there were 10 different reverse designs mated with an obverse for each pope, though not every reverse was used for every pope (or at least, examples are not known for every such possible mating).

As an aside, the reverse should be rotated 180 degrees, judging by the images in the book, such that the keys are pointing up.

JRocco

Thanks for the quick reply and info Joe. It is appreciated.
As for the orientation of the keys - following the normal medal die alignment ( ªª ) the
keys do point down. The keys would be pointing up only if the piece had the normal coin alignment ( ª« )

STLNATS

Joe's quite correct, this is part of an extensive, albeit crude, series of medals struck unofficially in the late 1500s or so. Papal medals began to be issued in earnest in the early 1400s and my understanding is that there was considerable effort to fill the demand of collectors (yes even then!) who wanted examples of earlier popes. This is part of the earliest produced "restitution" series. Many of the portraits are totally imaginary and the reverses used stock types appropriate for any pope. Per CNORP, your medal is one of 4 types used (or at least known) for Sergius (others inlcude parallel keys, keys behind a miter, arms without a legend along with the crossed keys you have with the legend "SANCTUS PETRUS ET PAULUS.")

These don't seem to be as extensively collected or carry the same price level as the later "official" issues (and related restrikes) but my sense is that most of us have at least a few examples that have found their way into our collection.

Joe's also correct in that the medal should be rotated 180 degrees for the proper orientation; the ends of the keys should point up (so that the end of the ribbon around the base of the keys hangs down). The folks who produced these probably didn't know or care about medal vs coin alignment, but were just trying to turn the odd piastre or two by satisfying the demand.

JRocco

Hey STLNATS.
Thank you.
I don't think I could slip one past you even if I tried. You are really an
incredible help to those of us that need help. Thanks does not go far enough.
I also picked up another piece, a Benedict Xlll that I can not find much about.
It is a crude piece that does not look like a regular Papal issue.
I will post it in a new thread to avoid confusion.
Thanks again for the help and insight.

STLNATS

You're most welcome. I like this forum because folks are really helpful (and have been numerous times to me) and I just try to keep with the program and pass along what was shared with me.....

ColinCMR

those are cool, never seen them before. It'd be neat to see a complete set!

JRocco

I will try to conserve this piece in a non-invasive way and will show
any progress in about a year or a year and a half from now.
You guys sure know your stuff and it shows.
Thank you all once again.