ITALY, Grand Duchy of Tuscany. Florence. Cosimo III de' Medici, Grandduke, 1670-1723. Medal (Bronze, 47 mm, 40.02 g, 12 h), by Gioacchino Francesco Travani (1634-1675), 1666. COSMVS III PRINC AETRVR Bare-headed, armored and draped bust of Cosimo III to left; on truncation, 1666; below, .I.F.T. Rev. CERTA FVLGENT SIDERA (= the stars shine certain, ex Horace, Odes II-xvi) Ship sailing on calm sea to right; above sun with the astrological sign for Jupiter; at the bottom of the waves below the ship, TRAVANVS. BDM VI, 130; Sandwich D17. Sharply struck, with a reddish-brown tone and most attractive. Extremely fine.

From the collection of a Bon Vivant, and that of Michael Hall, 3, Baldwin's 67, 28 September 2010, 2338.

Cosimo III, the penultimate Medici Grand Duke, was a curiously unpleasant character. Of some promise when young, he became ever more conservative and religious, banning a remarkable number of activities and people who were happily tolerated elsewhere. Perhaps the most lasting of his actions was the establishment in 1716 of a specific zone for the production of chianti: this continued until 1932 when it was expanded. When he died the Grand Duchy of Tuscany was an economic ruin, wracked by ultra conservative laws.