The rarest quadrupla of Mantua

A rarity: the quadrupla of Maria Gonzaga

In the Christmas Auction, taking place on December 13 in the magnificent setting of Villa Mosconi Bertani, numismatics enthusiasts will have the chance to acquire a stunning quadrupla in gold. This incredible specimen, minted in Mantua between 1637 and 1647 during the decade of Maria Gonzaga‘s regency for her son Charles II, is known in an extremely limited number of examples.

MANTOVA Maria Gonzaga (1637-1647) 2 Doppie o Quadrupla

Christmas Auction, Lot 107, MANTOVA Maria Gonzaga (1637-1647) 2 Doppie o Quadrupla

Obverse: MARIA •ET •CAR •II •D •G •D •MAN •ET •M •F •ET •C •

Conjoined busts of the duchess facing left, her head covered by a large widow’s veil, and her son Charles II, with long hair and wearing the collar of the Order of the Redeemer on his chest.

Reverse: ET •MONTIS •FERRATI •ET •C •

Quartered coat of arms with four eagles, within a crowned cartouche decorated with the collar of the Order of the Redeemer. The crown is surmounted by a small Mount Olympus, with the motto FIDES inscribed on the crown’s band.

The story of the regent Duchess

Maria Gonzaga was the last direct descendant of the senior branch of the Gonzaga family. In 1631, she was widowed by her husband Charles of Rethel, and in 1637, upon the death of her father-in-law Charles I Gonzaga-Nevers, she assumed the regency of the Duchy of Mantua on behalf of her son Charles II, who had been designated by his grandfather as the universal heir to all Gonzaga states: the duchies of Mantua, Montferrat, Rethel, and Nevers.

The duchess worked tirelessly to rebuild the duchy, which had been brought to its knees following the brutal sacking by the imperial army in 1630.

She strengthened Mantua‘s position among the European powers, aligning herself with the Habsburg Empire and Spain, aided by her aunt, the dowager empress Eleonora.

Maria Gonzaga succeeded in securing marriage alliances that established a closer relationship with the empire: in 1649, her son Charles II married Isabella Clara of Austria, daughter of Archduke Leopold and niece of Emperor Ferdinand II. Even more significant was the 1651 marriage of her daughter Eleonora to Emperor Ferdinand III.

However, her son’s temperament, characterized by frivolity and squanderer, undermined all the political efforts Maria had made. In 1647, upon reaching the age of eighteen, Charles II sidelined his mother and took control of the government, halting the productive work Maria had carried out until then.

The quadrupla of Maria Gonzaga

This prestigious quadrupla was minted during years filled with hope for the future of the young duke, whose success his mother devoted every effort to ensuring. The portraits of mother and son on the obverse convey feelings of joy, and we cannot resist sharing our belief that this coin was issued at the beginning of Maria’s regency.

One detail catches our attention, and we wish to share it with you: the collar of the Order of the Redeemer, worn by the young duke on the obverse and adorning the shield on the reverse.

Established in 1608 by Duke Vincenzo I, the Order was based in the Mantuan Basilica of Sant’Andrea, where the crypt housed the relic of soil soaked with the blood of Christ, believed to have been collected and brought to Mantua by the Roman soldier Longinus.

On the medallion hanging from an angelic face at the center of the collar—positioned at 6 o’clock on the coin—it is possible to distinctly see one of the two ancient reliquaries in the Ambrosian pyx style, commissioned in gold by Isabella d’Este at the beginning of the 15th century to house the precious relic.

The Gonzaga family maintained a deep connection to this relic, both for its spiritual significance and the prestige derived from its possession. The reliquaries containing it were frequently depicted on their coins, as were the saints associated with it, Longinus and Andrew.

To protect themselves personally, they also kept small portions of the relic in jewel reliquaries, some of which still exist in Mantua today. Unfortunately, during the events of the First War of Independence in 1848, Austrian soldiers stole two large gold reliquaries created by Isabella d’Este, which are now lost.

Later, replicas were created based on the original designs. Each weighed 3.8 kilograms of gold and was commissioned at the expense of Emperor Franz Joseph, who had them delivered to the city of Mantua in 1879 as compensation.

Read also: