Ferrara. Alfonso I d'Este, 1505–1534. Quarto di scudo, AR 9.60 g. ø 29 mm. ALFONSVS DVX FER III Armoured bust l. Rev. DE FORTI DVLCEDO Samson helmeted and in military attire, seated l., holding in r. hand a lion's head from whose jaws bees emerge; at his feet, a serpent coiled around a trunk. Ravegnani Morosini 4 (testone). MIR 271. Rare and in exceptional condition for the issue, undoubtedly the finest specimen known. A Renaissance portrait of enchanting beauty, work of a very talented master-engraver. Wonderful old cabinet tone, good extremely fine / extremely fine The son of Duke Ercole I d’Este and Princess Eleonora of Aragon, he married in 1491 Anna Maria Sforza, sister of Duke Gian Galeazzo Maria Sforza, who died six years later, in 1497. In 1502, he married the noblewoman Lucrezia Borgia, illegitimate daughter of Pope Alexander VI. Upon the death of his father in 1505, he inherited his duchies. The following year, he suppressed the conspiracy plotted by his brothers Ferrante and Giulio d’Este. In 1508, he joined the League of Cambrai against the Republic of Venice. After refusing to adhere to the peace agreement between the Papacy and Venice in 1510, he was excommunicated and deprived of his possessions. He subsequently took part in the War of the Holy League on the side of France, playing a prominent role in the Battle of Ravenna, where his artillery enabled the French forces to prevail over the Papal troops. His excommunication was lifted, but his territories were not restored to him; he regained possession of them only in 1530, through the intervention of Emperor Charles V. The following year, an imperial decree confirmed his possession of Modena, Reggio and Rubiera. In November 1526, in opposition to Pope Clement VII, he supplied the Landsknechts with several falconets (small cannon). A shot fired from one of these guns wounded the condottiero Giovanni dalle Bande Nere during the Battle of Governolo. The German troops were thereby given free passage, and in May 1527 they proceeded to sack Rome. Alfonso died in 1534. The reverse legend DE FORTI DVLCEDO, “From the strong comes sweetness”, derives from the riddle of Samson in Judges 14:14. It accompanies the dramatic representation of Samson holding the head of the lion from whose jaws a swarm of bees emerges. The biblical imagery was adopted by the Este as an emblem of strength giving rise to prosperity and beneficence. On Alfonso I’s quarto, the device has been interpreted as an allusion to the duke himself, whose strength and authority were intended to bring relief and prosperity to his subjects. Please find here the video of the coin