(sold for $90.0)

1707, Naples (City). Bronze & Lava "St. Januarius / Vesuvius Eruption" Medal. R!

Mint Year: 1707 Mint Place: Naples Engraver/Medallist: Hamerani.  Reference: Siciliano 73. RRR! Condition: Pierced (twice) in order to be worn and tooled/smoothed, otherwise VF! Material: Bronze (The medal's alloy used for this metal contains reportedly some lava particles from the volcano eruption!) Denomination: Medal - Thanksgiving of the Neapolitans after the eruption of Vesuvius (which was accompained by the usual Procession of Saint Januarius, patron Saint of Naples).  Weight: 23.27gm Diameter: 38mm

Obverse: Illuminated and mitred bust of Saint Januarius 3/4 left. Legend: D . IANVAR . LIBERATORI . VR - BIS FVNDATORI . OVIETIS

Reverse: Crowned relics of Saint Januarius (Two vials of his miraculous blood, which liquefies a number of times a year despite being well over 1000 years old.) above inscription in five lines and date (1707) as a roman numeral. All within wreath. Legend: POSTQVAM COLLAPIS . CIERES ET FLAMMA . QVIEVIT CIVES . NEAPOLITANI INCOLVMES MDCCVII

Januarius (Latin: Ianuarius; Neapolitan and Italian: Gennaro), also known as Januarius I of Benevento, was Bishop of Benevento and is a martyr and saint of the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church. While no contemporary sources on his life are preserved, later sources and legends claim that he died during the Great Persecution which ended with Diocletian's retirement in 305. Januarius is the patron saint of Naples, where the faithful gather three times a year in Naples Cathedral to witness the liquefaction of what is claimed to be a sample of his blood kept in a sealed glass ampoule.

Mount Vesuvius (Italian: Vesuvio Neapolitan: 'O Vesuvio, also 'A muntagna or 'A montagna; Latin: Vesuvius, also Vesevius, Vesvius or Vesbius) is a somma-stratovolcano located on the Gulf of Naples in Campania, Italy, about 9 km (5.6 mi) east of Naples and a short distance from the shore. It is one of several volcanoes which form the Campanian volcanic arc. Vesuvius consists of a large cone partially encircled by the steep rim of a summit caldera caused by the collapse of an earlier and originally much higher structure.

The eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79 destroyed the Roman cities of Pompeii, Herculaneum, Oplontis and Stabiae, as well as several other settlements. The eruption ejected a cloud of stones, ashes and volcanic gases to a height of 33 km (21 mi), erupting molten rock and pulverized pumice at the rate of 6×105 cubic metres (7.8×105 cu yd) per second. More than 1,000 people are thought to have died in the eruption, though the exact toll is unknown. The only surviving eyewitness account of the event consists of two letters by Pliny the Younger to the historian Tacitus.

Vesuvius has erupted many times since, and is the only volcano on the European mainland to have erupted within the last hundred years. Today, it is regarded as one of the most dangerous volcanoes in the world because of the population of 3,000,000 people living near enough to be affected by an eruption, with 600,000 in the danger zone, making it the most densely populated volcanic region in the world, as well as its tendency towards violently explosive eruptions, which are now known as Plinian eruptions.

Only 1$ shipping for each additional item purchased!