Triton XVII, Lot: 1260. Estimate $1000. Sold for $750. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

ITALY, Papale (Stato pontificio). Paul III. 1534-1549. AV Scudo d’oro (26mm, 3.40 g, 1h). Rome mint. · PAAVLVS · III · · PONT · MAX ·, papal arms / S · PAVLVS · VA S ELECTIONIS (crossed lion’s paws), San Paulo standing facing, holding sword in right hand, Gospel book in left. CNI XV 84; Muntoni 23; Berman 905; Friedberg 65. VF.

One of the few Popes to have fathered children before his election, Paul III was also the first Pope to understand the threat which was posed by the Reformation, on account of which he began a Counter-Reformation. He officially recognized the Jesuits, known as the Society of Jesus and commissioned the painting of the Last Judgment by Michelangelo.