The Economy of Renaissance Florence

Title Page, Copyright

The Economy of Renaissance Florence This page intentionally left blank The Economy of Renaissance Florence r i c h a r d a . g o l d t h wa i t e The Johns Hopkins University Press Baltimore © 2009 The Johns Hopkins University Press All rights reserved. Published 2009 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper 2 4 6 8 9 7 5 3 1 The Johns Hopkins University Press 2715 North Charles Street Baltimore, Maryland 21218-4363 www.press.jhu.edu Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Goldthwaite, Richard A. The economy of Renaissance Florence / Richard A. Goldthwaite. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-0-8018-8982-0 (hardcover : alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0-8018-8982-0 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Florence (Italy)—Economic conditions. 2. Renaissance—Italy—Florence. I. Title. HC308.F6G64 2008 330.945'51105—dc22 2007052602 A catalog record for this book is available from the British Library. Title page illustration: This florin, in the collection of the Museo Nazionale del Bargello at Florence (Dep. no. 3206, on deposit from the Museo Archeologico), is one of the second series, minted sometime between 1252 and 1303. The obverse bears the lily, the symbol of the city, with the inscription + flor entia; the reverse bears the image of Saint John the Baptist, the patron saint of the city, with the inscription s ioha nnes • b •. The coin has a diameter of 20.8mm (about two-thirds that of the illustration) and contains 3.48grams of gold. Florins of the first series are very rare, none being in public collections; they differ in the halo of the saint, which is undecorated, whereas here the halo is beaded along the border. Florins in these early series do not bear the coat-of-arms of the men who were Masters of the Mint at the time the coin was issued and therefore cannot be precisely dated. Special discounts are available for bulk purchases of this book. For more information, please contact Special Sales at 410-516-6936 or specialsales@press.jhu.edu. The Johns Hopkins University Press uses environmentally friendly book materials, including recycled text paper that is composed of at least 30 percent post-consumer waste, whenever possible. All of our book papers are acid-free, and our jackets and covers are printed on paper with recycled content. ...