Sale: Triton V, Lot: 2389. Estimate $300.  Closing Date: Wednesday, 16 January 2002.  Sold For $1100. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

ITALY, Papal States. Pius IX. MDCCCLXIX (1869). AR 82mm Medal. I. Bianchi, sculptor. PIUS IX PONT. MAX., capped bust left, wearing hooded habit and stole / PROSPECTVS INTERIOR BASILICAE VATICANAE DEO SACRAE IN HONOREM BEATI PETRI PR AP, proposed interior view of St. Peter's Basilica; I EQ BIANCHI DELIN ET SCVL AN. MDCCCLXIX in exergue. Europese Penningen 1576. EF, deeply toned. ($300)

An exceptional example of Papal artistry, and a paragon of sculptural and medallic art. The incuse center of the reverse decends 8mm from the rim, rendering actual space to heighten the perspective. To compensate for the pitfalls of such a high-relief medal, the die is alligned such that the negative space of the reverse corresponds exactly with the high-point of the obverse bust. The reverse is accurate down to the moulding and parietal inscriptions, and the end of the transcept is rendered in atmospheric perspective.