Reported here are not necessarily the high prices but rather items which have an interest outside their speciality (four more selections are illustrated in related articles below). The total for the 1269-lot sale was Li196m (£653,000).
Top right: A common but little-known Italian Gothic masterpiece is the (24mm diameter) Alfonso IV of Aragon (1327-36) struck at Messina. It made Li600,000 (£200).
Middle right: A bronze medal (36mm) of The Emperor Charles V (1519-58) by the court sculptor Leone Leoni made Li600,000 (£200).
Bottom right: Genoese Admiral Andrea Doria rescued Leone Leoni from the galleys for breaking the nose of Michelangelo. Leoni made this (39mm diameter) medal for his saviour. In this sale it made Li360,000 (£870).
Buyer's Premium: 24/18.6 per cent
Exchange rate: £1 = Li 2950
Saleroom selection from Christie's Rome
ITALY: NOW that Christie’s numismatic sales have been subsumed into Spink’s they are no longer held in London. However, they offered some very appealing pieces in Rome on December 13 and 14.
