i am willing to enter into competition with the ancients and feel able to surpass them for since those early days in which i made the medals of pope clement i have learned so much that i can now produce far better pieces of the kind i think i can also outdo the coins i struck for duke alessandro which are still held in high esteem in like manner i could make for you large pieces of gold and silver plate as i did so often for that noble monarch king francis of france thanks to the great conveniences he allowed me without ever losing time for the execution of colossal statues or other works of the sculptors craft