Lot 2417
Italian States - Ferrara. Testone, ND. CNI-X-34 (pl.XXX,22). Alfonso I d'Este, 1505-1534. Obverse, bearded portrait of the Duke left. Reverse, Samson holding the head of a lion, with bees coming from the mouth. A snake is on the ground. Nicely toned and in a high state of preservation for this rare coin. Bought from Seaby of London in March of 1971. NGC graded EF-45.
* Alfonso I, an engineer and patron of the arts, was born in 1476, the son of Ercole d'Este and Eleanor of Naples. Soon after becoming ruler he found that his brothers Ferrante and Giulio d'Este were plotting against him, and in 1506 they were tried for treason and sentenced to death. Just as they mounted the gallows Alfonso announced that their sentences would be commuted to life imprisonment. Ferrante died in prison after 34 years, but Giulio was pardoned in 1559 after 53 years in jail.
In these brutal times Alfonso was a cunning politician. He fortified Ferrara and wisely picked his allies during an era of complex European conflicts. He remained an ally of Louis XII of France, but became an enemy of Pope Julius, who in 1510 excommunicated him and declared his fiefs forfeit, adding Ferrara to the Papal States. Alfonso fought with success against the Papal and Venetian armies and played a major part in the French victory at the battle of Ravenna 1512. Alfonso's first wife was Anna Sforza. His second wife was the famous femme fatale and member of the notorious Borgia family, Lucrezia Borgia.
Estimated Value $8,000 - 9,000.
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