ITALY. Guastalla. Tallero, 1620. Ferrante II Gonzaga (1575-1630). NGC AU-55.

Dav-3914; KM-48. A highly collectible crown-sized issue of Italy that is RARE in absolute terms and very rare in U.S. auctions. As nice as we've seen, this example displays a bold strike with smooth, attractively toned fields and limited signs of past handling on either side. For the specialist, it's finest graded status at NGC and PCGS should be no surprise. Ferrante II Gonzaga was count of Guastalla (later duke) and head of the junior branch of the Gonzagas, whose senior head was duke of Mantua. His attempts to seize Mantua after the death of the duke there in 1627 set off the War of the Mantuan Succession between France and Austria, both already contestants in the Thirty Years War.

From the Collection of Dr. James Eustace Bizzell, II.