Rare Ferrara Testone

312, Lot: 288. Estimate $1000. Sold for $3000. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

ITALY, Ferrara. Ercole I d'Este. 1471-1505. AR Testone (26mm, 7.53 g, 12h). Bare head right / Seven-headed hydra. CNI X 20; Biaggi 769. VF, once cleaned, now retoned, minor marks. Rare.

This wonderful reverse type refers to the construction of the Addizione Erculea, a northern suburb of Ferrara. The area where the addition was made was covered with malaria-ridden swamps which had to be filled before construction could begin. To symbolize this monumental task, Ercole chose a scene from the exploits of his namesake, Hercules, who slayed the mythological seven-headed Hydra, and placed it on his coinage.