Roma. Paolo III (Alessandro Farnese), 1534–1549. Scudo year XV, AV 3.29 g. ø 23 mm. PAVLVS III – P M AN XV Coat of arms surmounted by tiara and keys in saltire with cords. Rev. BEARE SOLEO sign of Girolamo Ceuli, mintmaster AMICOS MEOS Nimbate bust of Christ l. Muntoni –. Berman –. MIR –. Friedberg 64a. Apparently unique. Minor areas of weakness, otherwise extremely fine Ex NGSA sale 5, 2008, 885. Of particular interest is this scudo, struck in the final year of the pontificate of Paul III Farnese. The coin is unknown to the principal reference works on Papal coinage and was recorded by Friedberg only after its appearance on the market. The type also represents an innovation within the gold coinage of Paul III: the previously known gold scudi depict Saint Paul standing on the reverse, whereas the bust of Christ would be adopted more frequently by his successor, Julius III, with varied legends. This specimen is of further particular interest on account of the mintmaster’s mark of Girolamo Ceuli, a merchant of Pisan origin who in 1549 obtained the contract to operate the mint of Rome. Until now, coins bearing his mark were known from the issues of the lengthy Sede Vacante of 1549–1550, which began with the death of Paul III and ended with the election, in the Jubilee Year 1550, of Giovanni Maria Ciocchi del Monte as Julius III. The MIR – Stato Pontificio, vol. II, specifies that Ceuli’s contract commenced on 1 July 1549. Since Paul III died on 10 November of the same year, this scudo constitutes particularly significant evidence, documenting an issue struck during Ceuli’s tenure at the Roman mint in the final approximately four months of the Farnese pope’s pontificate. The coin therefore makes an important contribution to our knowledge of the coinage of Paul III and, more generally, to the history of the contractors of the Papal mint, filling a chronological gap between the end of this pontificate and the beginning of the Sede Vacante administered by the Camerlengo Guido Ascanio Sforza. It provides evidence of Girolamo Ceuli’s activity during a still relatively little-known phase of his long career, when his connections with the Farnese milieu must have been of particular importance. Ceuli remained active, albeit intermittently, in the management of the Roman mint until the first year of the pontificate of Gregory XIII. Please find here the video of the coin