Ottaviano Vestri / Ornate Vase c. 1572 Bronze, 78.7 mm Ø, 106.4 g Obverse: Bust of Ottaviano Vestri facing left, bearded and wearing doublet. Around, · OCT · VESTRIVS · ACCONIORVM · COMES · IVRE · CONS · AN · XLIII (Ottaviano Vestri, Count of [?], Jurist, In His 43rd Year). Reverse: A decorative two-handled vase. Around, LVTVM NISI TVNDATVR NON FIT VRCEVS (Unless clay is pounded, it does not become a jar). Below the vase, POSTERORVM IMMITATIONI (For the imitation of posterity). Ottaviano Vestri was a noble and jurist from Imola who died in 1572. He mediated between Florence and Ferrara and was created consistorial advocate by Pope Pius V in 1571. There is a smaller medal of Vestri from five years earlier with a similar reverse, and Attwood notes that the design suggests that Vestri overcame adversity. Toderi and Vannel interpret the reverse as a funerary urn and, combined with the lower reverse inscription, see this as a memorial after Vestri's death. Attwood attributes this medal to Rome, while Toderi and Vannel list it under Milan. References: Attwood 2003, no. 1053; Börner 1997, no. 820; Toderi and Vannel 2000, no. 300 Francesco Redi / Eternity and Fame by Massimiliano Soldani-Benzi, 1685 Bronze, 87.6 mm Ø, 188.0 g Obverse: Bust of Francesco Redi facing right, with long curly hair and draped cloak. Around, FRANCISCVS · REDI · PATRITIVS · ARETINVS · . Beneath the bust, M · SOLD · 1684 . Reverse: Eternity, veiled, sitting at left with her left foot on a globe, handing a laurel wreath to Minerva, who kneels on top of Time, represented as a winged old man with a scythe. In the background, two columns supporting an architrave on which is written AETERNITATI , topped by a snake biting its tail. To the right, AERE · PEREMNIVS . In exergue, M · S · F · 1685 . Francesco Redi was born in Arezzo on February 18, 1626. He attended the University of Pisa and received doctoral degrees in both medicine and philosophy in 1647. He performed research and experiments in the fields of toxicology, entomology, and parasitology. He also wrote the poem Bacco in Toscana, which was published after his death. Redi died on March 1, 1697, in Pisa. The reverse design of this medal can be interpreted that Redi's fame will live on for eternity. Eternity gives the laurel wreath, a symbol of triumph, to Minerva, the goddess of wisdom, who kneels on a fallen Old Man Time. Additionally, the ouroboros, an ancient symbol of a snake biting its own tail, is a symbol of eternity, representing the infinite cycle of life and death. References: Börner 1997, no. 1489; Vannel and Toderi 1987, no. 38; Vannel and Toderi 2005, nos. 183-184 Pope Clement XI / Aqueduct at the Port of Civitavecchia by Ferdinand de Saint-Urbain, 1703 Silver, 35.2 mm Ø, 20.3 g Obverse: Bust of Clement XI facing right, wearing camauro, mozzetta, and decorative stole. Around, CLEMENS · XI · P · M · AN · III . Under the bust, S · VR · . Reverse: View of the Port of Civitavecchia, with the aqueduct throughout the background terminating at the decorative fountain in the center. Around, HAVRIETIS · IN · GAVDIO (Drink in Joy). Annual medal for the third year of Clement XI's pontificate, commemorating the inauguration of the new aqueduct at Civitavecchia. In addition to this annual medal by Saint-Urbain, a larger medal by Giovanni Hamerani was also produced to commemorate this aqueduct. Work had begun under Innocent XII to build an aqueduct to provide water to the port and city of Civitavecchia. The undertaking to carry water from Allumiere traced the ancient aqueduct of Trajan and covered over twenty miles. After Innocent's death, Clement XI continued the project and set aside the funds needed to complete the work. He entrusted the direction of the project to Cardinal Benedetto Pamphili, who had already directed the aqueduct work at the Port of Anzio. On November 22, 1702, the project was complete and water gushed forth from the fountain in the port. References: Bartolotti 1967, no. E 703; Miselli 1997, no. 37; Modesti 2007, no. 181
It's a cast medal (and admittedly a somewhat later cast, probably made from a mold taken from an earlier cast), so it's likely a flaw from the mold that was used.
