The Marzocco, a lion holding with its right forefoot a shield with the lily of Florence, a symbol of republican liberty, from a sculpture realised by Donatello nowadays conserved at the Museo del Bargello in Florence. Around, left to right, “REPUBBLICA ITALIANA”; below, a heraldic lily, the symbol of the city; all encased in a dot-decorated frame.

The Marzocco is the heraldic lion that is a symbol of Florence and was apparently the first piece of public secular sculpture commissioned by the Republic of Florence, in the late 14th century. The lion stood at the heart of the city in the Piazza della Signoria at the end of the platform attached to the Palazzo Vecchio called the ringhiera, from which speakers traditionally harangued the crowd.

Drawn from a medal realised by Antonio di Puccio, called Pisanello, probably in 1447, Gianfrancesco Gonzaga, first marquis of Mantova (1432-1444), advances on a horse with the typical forms of the art of Pisanello. Around, on the left, “FAUNA NELL’ARTE”; on the right, on two lines, “50”, “EURO”; below “R”; on the bottom, on two lines, “2013”, “V. DE SETA”; all encased in a dot-decorated frame.