Florence

Francesco I de’ Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany 1574-1587

MIR 178; Fr-291, PCGS-graded About Uncirculated Details

Rare; sharply struck crown and lily, well centered with pleasing gold surfaces.

Francesco suffered in the eyes of the Florentines by not being the equal to his father Cosimo I. He was short, melancholy, and engaged in the pursuits of alchemy and chemistry, considered at the time as ignoble. Having a Venetian mistress and ignoring his princely responsibilities did not endear him to the populace either.