Archaeological Museum of Bologna

The Palagi Collection is particularly well known for coins struck in Italy: of the more than 20,000 pieces in the Medagliere, about 13,000 are from the Bolognese painter’s collection. The series of coins struck in Bologna is intriguing, because it includes rare pieces – some of which one of a kind – that make it possible to reconstruct the complete picture of the production of the city mint. The coins minted in Rome, Venice and Emilia Romagna are equally important in terms of quality, rarity and the state of conservation of the pieces.

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In 1494, Giovanni II Bentivoglio, Lord of Bologna, obtained from Emperor Maximilian I, the title of Count Palatine and the permission to include the imperial eagle in its coat of arms and to issue coins in his name and with his portrait. Since 1495 the mint of Bologna issued coins of fine gold, silver, and mixture, whose mints were made by Francesco Raibolini, known as "il Francia", one of the greatest Bolognese artists. These beautiful specimens were erroneously assigned to the mint of Antegnate, a feud that Giovanni got in 1480; they were issued by the mint of Bologna. On the obverse appears the portrait of Bentivoglio, with long hair and cap, while the reverse is engraved with the quartered coat of arms, topped by a helmet and an eagle.

Provenance: Palagi Collection
Datation: 1495 AD
Material: gold
Dimensions: dia mm 27,5; gr 6,9
Inventory #: 59654