Ercole I d'Este ruled Ferrara for thirty-four years and spent much of that time at war — most ruinously in the War of Ferrara (1482–1484), when Venice and papal forces stripped the duchy of significant territory and left its finances gutted. That the ducato continued to be struck throughout his reign, maintaining the weight and fineness standard set by Venice's own ducat, reflects the political calculation that monetary credibility was worth protecting even when military fortunes were not.
The CNI records at least six die variants across this type, catalogued as numbers 7 through 12.
Ercole I d'Este ruled Ferrara for thirty-four years and spent much of that time at war — most ruinously in the War of Ferrara (1482–1484), when Venice and papal forces stripped the duchy of significant territory and left its finances gutted. That the ducato continued to be struck throughout his reign, maintaining the weight and fineness standard set by Venice's own ducat, reflects the political calculation that monetary credibility was worth protecting even when military fortunes were not.
The CNI records at least six die variants across this type, catalogued as numbers 7 through 12.