
Milan
Francis I of France, Duke of Milan 1515-1522, 1524-1525
MIR 260; Fr-707, PCGS-graded AU-58
Rare; unusually choice with pleasing gold patina.
As a patron of the arts who initiated the Renaissance in France, Francis I acquired the Mona Lisa painting from Leonardo da Vinci. He succeeded his cousin, Louis XII, inheriting the title Duke of Milan from him. He was a highly cultured man whose military focus was fighting the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V.