Comparing the medals

As we can see, medals of the same type and created by the same person can be very different. Let’s take a look at the medal in Berliner Münzkabinett (inv. 18210913): in its precise way and good condition it is close to the Bargello one. But here too are the eyes of the old man open and his gaze indicated by precise punching. We know from Vasari that at least in the example he saw that the old pilgrim was blind. Vasari: le vita di Michelangelo, Milan 1962, vol. 1, p. 109. Maybe the idea of a blind pilgrim was misunderstood by the (later) owner of the medal and they altered the medal according to their own ideas.

You can also see differences in the finishing of the face part on the obverse or the figure on the reverse - by direct comparison, you can see big differences in the finishing of the feet, for example. This led to the assumption that the Munich specimen is a replica.