ITALY, Parma. Ferdinando di Borbone, 1765-1802. Da 8 doppie 1786 S (Gold, 40 mm, 56.86 g, 6 h). FERDINANDVS I•HISPAN INFANS / * Bare bust of Ferdinand I to right. Rev. D•G•PARMÆ PLAC•ET VAST•DVX 1786 Crowned coat of arms within laurel wreath. Friedberg 926. CNI 63/64. MIR 1057/1. Schlumberger 510. Very rare. Tiny marks and areas of weakness on the obverse, otherwise, extremely fine.



Ferdinando di Borbone, Infante of Spain and Duke of Parma, Piacenza, and Guastalla, stands as a poignant figure marking the twilight of the Age of Absolutism. Profoundly religious and an advocate of absolutist rule, his reign was deeply intertwined with the dynastic politics of 18th-century Europe - especially through his marriage to Maria Amalia of Austria (1746-1804), daughter of Empress Maria Theresa (1717-1780).

Despite these powerful alliances, Ferdinando di Borbone was ultimately unable to preserve his duchies in the face of the sweeping changes brought by the French Revolution (1789). Following the French occupation led by Napoléon Bonaparte (1769-1821) in 1796, the Duchy of Parma was formally annexed into the French Republic in 1801. A man drawn to religious life from an early age, particularly the Dominican order, Ferdinando spent his final days at the Abbey of Fontevivo, where he died in 1802.

Among the most remarkable artifacts of his rule is the 8 Doppie, designed by Giuseppe Siliprandi. Striking in both its size and rarity, the coin was never intended for widespread circulation. Instead, it served a ceremonial and symbolic role, primarily as a prestigious gift and a display of sovereign power. As such, it embodies the representational logic of absolutism - demonstrating authority not through utility, but through grandeur. Today, the coin stands as a rare and valuable witness to the decline of absolutist monarchies across Europe.