Modena. Alfonso I d'Este, 1505–1510 and 1527–1534. Ducato, AV 3.44 g. ø 24 mm. ALFONS – DVX MVT III Armoured bust l.; below, wedge. Rev. S GEMINI – MVT PON St. Geminianus nimbate and mitred, seated facing with crosier and giving blessing. Bernareggi 127. Ravegnani Morosini 12. MIR 635 (R5). Friedberg 759. Of the highest rarity, the finest of only three specimens known. A portrait of enchanting beauty, work of a very talented master-engraver. Minor areas of weakness, otherwise good extremely fine Ex Renaissance sale 2, 2000, 419. Alfonso I inherited the title of Duke of Ferrara, Modena and Reggio in 1505 upon the death of his father Ercole I. An able prince, endowed with exceptional military acumen and a great patron of the arts (patron of artists and poets such as Ludovico Ariosto and Titian), Alfonso found himself ruling a linchpin State situated between the Papal States, the Republic of Venice, and the French and Imperial domains. The government of Alfonso I laid the foundations for the institutional consolidation of the Este Duchy. Modena, although remaining secondary during this period compared to the capital Ferrara, strengthened its defences and economic structure. Decades later, with the Devolution of Ferrara to the Papacy in 1598, Modena would become the new and definitive capital of the Este Duchy. Please find here the video of the coin