The Warrior Pope

Sale: Triton XIII, Lot: 1880. Estimate $300.  Closing Date: Monday, 4 January 2010.  Sold For $475. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

ITALY, Papal Coinage. Julius II (Giuliano Della Rovere). 1503-1513. AR Giulio (3.76 g, 12h). Rome mint. · IVLIVS · II · · PONT · MAX · (annulet stops), papal arms above coat of ; all within quatrelobe / · · PAVLVS · · S · PETRVS · · (annulet stops), Ss. Peter and Paul standing facing, each holding Gospels, and holding key and swrod, respectively; rosette between. CNI XV 103; Muntoni 28; Berman 574. Good VF, lightly toned.

From the Leonard O. Greenfield Collection.

The altar boy and nephew of Pope Sixtus IV, Julius II dealt with foreign affairs very forcefully, regaining Perugia and Bologna from their despots, even leading troops himself. In mourning for the loss of Bologna, he wore a beard for nine months, a practice which Clement VII copied and made vogue. Julius II was also a patron of the arts, financing artists such as Michelangelo, Raphael, and Bramante.