165, Lot: 300. Estimate $150. Sold for $113. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

ITALY, Napoli (Kingdom of Naples). Alfonso II. 1494-1495. AR Coronato (28mm, 3.93 g). CORONAVIT E VNXIT ME MANVS T D, coronation scene / ALFONSVS II D G R SICILIE IE, St. Michael slaying dragon, T in left field, rosette in right. Pannuti 3c; CNI XIX pg. 215, 32 var. (V at end of obverse legend); cf. MEC 14, 1032. VF, uneven toning.

Alfonso continues the St. Michael type of his father Ferdinand I, called Ferrante. His coronato coll'angelo, with its striking image of the Lord's justice, marks the suppression of the "Conspiracy of the Barons" (1485-1487), a revolt by local Italian nobles upset by the growing power of the Neopolitan king. Ferrante had promised pardons to those nobles who surrendered, but after the end of the rebellion he imprisoned and executed the leaders of the uprising. Alfonso took an active part in the suppression of the rebellion, and both father and son suffered blackened reputation for their cruelty. Alfonso succeeded his father in January 1494, inheriting a disgruntled and bankrupt kingdom. Charles VII of France saw an opportunity and invaded the territory of the weakened king. Alfonso abdicated after a reign of little over a year, leaving his son Ferdinand II to fight to regain the kingdom.