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A Renaissance Medal Arguably, there are two events that make a collector most happy. The first would be to finally find and acquire a coin or medal which the collector had long sought but never was able to snag until now. The second such event would be to discover a coin or medal which had been in his or her collection for many years but for some unknown reason had never seemed important until the collector finally realized that he had a gem of a coin or medal and now had the time to properly research this heretofore ignored masterpiece.

Such is the case for the second fortuitous event as in the medal shown here, a product of the late Italian Renaissance, made shortly after the year 1565 A.D.. In that year, a naval battle took place between the Ottoman Turks and the Sovereign and Military Order of the Nights Hospitallers of Saint John of Jerusalem, then known as the Knights of Malta. The Order was commanded by one Jean Parisot de la Valletta, Grand Master of the Knights, from whom the capital city of Malta, Valletta, derives its name.

The Order was located in Jerusalem until 1291 when they were driven out by the Turks. Their new location was to be in Cyprus where they operated most needed military hospitals for the Crusaders. This lasted until 1309 when they captured Rhodes only to lose it once again to the Ottomans in 1522. Charles the Fifth, Holy Roman Emperor, helped them re-locate to Malta in 1530 where they proceeded to build a hospital and to develop a powerful military defense.

The inevitable conflict with the Turks came finally in 1565 with the Knights emerging victorious. It would have been shortly after that date when it was decided to honor their Grand Master with a fine medal for his part in defeating the blockade set in motion by the Turks.

The Valetta medal as shown here, was a creation of an Italian Artist, Federico Cicciolo, or Federico Cocchis, or Federico Coccola, the exact name being uncertain. It is known that he was a native of Martinori, that he worked for Pope Pius IV in Rome, from 1560 to 1564, and that he was a a seal engraver, and a member of the College of Goldsmiths.

Another specimen of the Valletta medal is on display in the National Museum of Art, Washington D.C., and photographed as Lot No. 376 in the Catalogue, “Medals from the Samuel H. Kress Collection, Renaissance Medals at the National gallery of Art”, by G.F. Hill and Graham Pollard. This medal has the artist’s signature, as on the medal illustrated here, as F. CO. A second medal shown in the above mentioned catalogue is attributed to F. Coccola and illustrated as Lot No. 377. This second medal honors Prospero Publicola Santacroce, Roman, born 1514, named as a Cardinal 1565, and died 1589. The artist’s signature on this medal appears as FED [ERICUS] COC. Two other known medals by F. Coccola are of Pope Clement VIII. There may have been other medals by Coccola as yet unknown to myself.

It is fortuitous to be able to establish a continuous chain of ownership for both medals and coins. The Valetta Medal shown here carried a reference to Lot No. 110, Munzen und Medaillon Sale No. XVII, 1957. Accordingly, that firm was contacted and requested to provide what information they might retain regarding that sale and the provenance mentioned in the text description. They searched their records and were able to provide some much needed and important information for which I am most grateful. They reported that their Lot No. 110 was sold to a famous Swiss collector, Dr. Dimitry Dolivo. His collection was purchased by said firm several years later and was dispersed in four auction sales and also sold directly to clients. They were unable to provide the name of the buyer of the medal. The provenance they list with their 1957 sale was the sale of the Henry Oppenheimer, ESQ., F.S.A. collection in July 27 & 28, 1936, Christie, Manson, & Woods Auction, at which time Munzen und Medaillon originally acquired the medal. I acquired the medal from an a very well known collector by private contract who is, I am certain, the missing link in the line of ownership. The uninterrupted chain of title is secure, at least to the time of the ownership of Mr. Oppenheimer.

Several question arise when viewing a Renaissance Medal. Is it a cast that is contemporary with the time the original medal was made? Or, is it a medal made later, perhaps much later, and possibly several generations away from the original medal? The answer to these questions is essential to determine the desirability of the medal. In the case of the medal described here, there are two clues which are of importance.

The first clue is provided by G. F. Hill in his book, “Renaissance Medals, Oxford , at the Clarendon Press, 1920. Mr. Hill notes that as casts are made from casts, but not from the original cast, generation after generation, the diameter of the latest cast will continue to shrink. The Valletta Medal shown herein has a diameter of 51 millimeters, the same as the Valletta medal mentioned above from the Kress Collection in the National Museum of Art. A second clue is to determine, if possible, if the medal in question had ever been in the collection of a noted connoisseur of medals, such as Mr. Henry Oppenheimer. This medal meets that criteria and so would seem to be of an early provenance.

Lastly, there are some observations that might be helpful to someone viewing the medal for the first time. The obverse inscription is abbreviated as normal. The missing letters are shown herein in [ ]. F[RATER]. IO[ANNES]. VALLETTA. M[AGNES]. M[AGISTER]. HOSP[ITALIS]. HIER[USALEM]. The reverse inscription is complete VNVS X MILLIA. One detail on the obverse can easily be missed, the Cross of Jerusalem on the breast plate of Valletta.

The reverse has David Slaying Goliath. He is holding a sword, about to decapitate the fallen Goliath. In the foreground are three rocks, indicating, perhaps, that David missed two or three times before getting in the killing blow. The sword he holds is that of Goliath since David refused to take any weapon more other than his sling according to Josephus, in the English Translation of the “Works of Flavius Joshephus”, translated by William Whiston, A.M., Alden and Beardsly, 1857. The sling is present on the medal, lying on the ground just above the prostrate Goliath. To the right are the Philistines, falling back in terror. The ocean, with a ship on the horizon, is symbolic of the fact that it was a naval battle.

Other references not mentioned in the text are as follows: [1] Biographical Dictionary of Medallists, Vol. 1, A-D, by L. Forrer, London, Spink & Sons, 1904 & MEDAGLISTI E INCISORI ITALIANI, DAL XV al XIX SECOLO, Vittorio Lorioli