210, Lot: 378. Estimate $100. Sold for $106. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

ITALY, Papal Medals. Sixtus V (Felice Peretti). 1585-1590. Æ Medal (33mm, 21.91 g, 12h). Lorenzo Fragni, engraver. · SIXTVS · V · PONT · OPT · MAX ·, bust right, wearing camauro and mozzetta / · TVTVM · REGIMEN ·, Roma seated left on cuirass, holding small dragon; military imlements and pontifical regalia behind; · ROMA · in exergue. Mazio 136; Lincoln 761. Superb EF.

From the Luparello Collection.

Born to a rather poor family, Sixtus V was a reformer not only religiously, but also politically. He was open to large ideas and approached the papacy with zeal, reconstructing the administration of the papal state while also founding numerous municipal projects in Rome. Inheriting a bankrupt treasury, he administered his funds carefully and left the Vatican with a substantial surplus upon his death.