CNG 85, Lot: 1403. Estimate $1000. Sold for $1100. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

ITALY, Toscana (Granducato). Cosimo III de Medici. 1670-1723. AR Piastra (44mm, 30.91 g, 6h). Firenze (Florence) mint. Dated 1678. Draped and armored bust right / Christ standing right in the river Jordan, being anointed by St. John the Baptist to right, holding long cross. CNI XII 54; Morosini 2; Davenport 4209. Near EF, toned.

The longest-reigning Grand Duke in the history of Toscana, Cosimo III was born to Ferdinando II de' Medici and Vittoria della Rovere. At the behest of his mother, he was raised with a religiously-oriented education, ultimately serving as the catalyst to the reactionary policies made throughout his reign. Poor management of the grandduchy, however, left Toscana in a fledgling economic state upon Cosimo's death and his son and successor, Gian Gastone, served as the final member from the de' Medici family.