Emanuele Filiberto reclaimed Piedmont from French occupation following the Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis in 1559, and his subsequent monetary reforms were among the most aggressive of any Italian ruler of the century — he systematically replaced the debased coinage of the occupation years and shifted the duchy's mint activity toward Turin after naming it his new capital in 1563. The billon issues of this period circulated hard through a region still economically disrupted by decades of foreign administration.
The "2nd type" designation in MIR 548 reflects a die revision within the reign, a common necessity given the volume and duration of small-denomination production across nearly three decades of continuous striking.
Emanuele Filiberto reclaimed Piedmont from French occupation following the Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis in 1559, and his subsequent monetary reforms were among the most aggressive of any Italian ruler of the century — he systematically replaced the debased coinage of the occupation years and shifted the duchy's mint activity toward Turin after naming it his new capital in 1563. The billon issues of this period circulated hard through a region still economically disrupted by decades of foreign administration.
The "2nd type" designation in MIR 548 reflects a die revision within the reign, a common necessity given the volume and duration of small-denomination production across nearly three decades of continuous striking.