La Zecchino (The Gold Coin) by Roy Radian

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SUMMARY: Entry for the June flash fiction contest: "Two sides to every story." This is the story of Cosimo di Giovanni degli Mèdici, also known as "Cosimo “il Vecchio”, founder of the Medici political dynasty.

Giovanni paused from his reading when there was a knock on the door. A short moment later his brother, Cosimo de' Medici, sauntered inside with Luca de' Albizzi on his trail. To disrupt him on his busiest time, this one better be good.
"What bring you and your friend here, brother?" He sighed and wearily motioned them to sit.
"Ah, have I intruded upon your meditation." The sarcasm wasn't lost on Giovanni. It's not like he enjoyed perusing over the large Medici's bank ledger. As the first son with the same given name as his father, it was his burden to shoulder the responsibility of ensuring Medici bank success. And for the past thirteen years since the founding he had dedicated his life to the bank. He smiled silently, coaxing his brother to speak.
"We were taking a stroll through Piazza della Bancario and guess what Luca found?" He brought a gold coin and placed it on table. Giovanni fingered the coin, it was too thin and almost flat like zinc sheeting, very far from Florin gold coin standard.
"So you have developed an appetence in banking business."
"For great desire constraineth me to learn. If Heaven doth sweeten them, or Hell envenom."
"Dante Alighieri's?" Giovanni asked.
"Yes, Divina Commedia," said Cosimo. "Check the picture stamped on the coin's surface, please."
The picture was a profile of a man's head wearing an oversized crown. At first Giovanni didn't recognize it because the face was rugged and hazy. But he trembled as he read the half circle letters inscribed in the coin's side. Salvestro degli Medici. The coin's other side was an engraving of Medici's insignia.
"What's the meaning of this?"
Cosimo shrugged his shoulder. "Someone used it as bills of exchange in Arti dei Vinattieri, a minor guild dealing in wine. I thought you should know about that."
"Dio Mia! This is defamation." Giovanni shouted. On top of that, a wine merchant, God knows how fast this calumniation would spread. And the blame, of course it would fell to Medici House, on his shoulder.
"My intuition was correct, then. The coin wasn't from Medici bank."
"How preposterous." Giovanni said. "The House of Albizzi will no doubt take a notice about this and their fingers will be pointing at us. Although they should know better that we have severed the ties with The Dictator and the rest of families. It's old histories." He snickered. "They might even be the one who issued that coin to slander us."
Luca fidgeted in his chair and raised his hand. "Rinaldo hasn't told me anything about it."
"Of course he won't," replied Giovanni quickly. "Everyone in Florence knows you're my brother close friend."
"What about Alberti?" Asked Cosimo. "They might have been banned from Florence in 1382, but enmity has a way to sneak inside people's hearts."
"It doesn't linger in one place for thirty years long, brother, but moving on with the holder."
"What will you do then?"
"I'll go to Palazzo della Signoria to discuss this with Gonfaloniere of Justice or the Priori." He grabbed his coat and pocketed the gold coin in his trouser.