Rare medal struck to commemorate the formation of the Holy League – the alliance of Pope Innocent XI, Emperor Leopold I of Habsburg, the Republic of Venice, and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth under King John III Sobieski – directed against the Ottoman Empire in the aftermath of the great victory at Vienna in 1683.
Executed by the renowned engraver Ferdinando Hamerani, this medal represents a highly valuable testimony of the Christian coalition against Ottoman power.
Obverse: bust of Innocent XI, below the signature HAMERANVS F
INNOC XI PONT M A VIII
Reverse: on an altar with four crowns, the inscription ANNO DOMINI / MCDLXXXIIII, above it the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove
HABETO NOSFOEDERATOS ET SERVIEMVSTIBI
Diameter 36 mm, weight 16.35 g
