1 Ducat - Ludovico II Fieschi

The Fieschi were one of the most powerful Genoese families of the sixteenth century, and Ludovico II ruled Masserano as a tiny but technically sovereign imperial fief — a status that conferred the right to strike coinage. That right was exercised aggressively by minor Italian lords precisely because gold ducats circulated by weight and reputation rather than by issuing authority, making them functionally accepted across trade networks regardless of their origin. Masserano's output was minuscule, which is why Fieschi gold of this period survives in single-digit numbers across major collections.