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1 Ducato - Guglielmo VIII Palaeologo
| Issuer | March of Montferrat (Montferrat, Italian States) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1464-1483 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Reverse description | Standing figure of Saint Theodore, the patron warrior-saint of Montferrat, depicted in full armour and thrusting a lance downward to slay a dragon prostrate at his feet, in the tradition of late medieval Italian devotional coinage. The composition fills the central field with dynamic martial energy characteristic of hammered ducats from the Italian states. A circular legend in uncial Latin characters surrounds the figure, invoking the saint by name and epithet. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Guglielmo VIII ruled Montferrat as a marquis caught between competing Italian powers — the Sforza of Milan, Savoy, and the ambitions of the Gonzaga — navigating those pressures through strategic marriage alliances rather than military force. His gold ducato coinage was struck in close imitation of the Venetian ducat standard, a deliberate economic choice that made Montferrat's currency acceptable in the broader northern Italian trade network without the marquessate having anything like Venice's commercial reach.
CNI II#1 places this as the primary type for his reign. The Palaeologus dynasty had held Montferrat since 1305, a Byzantine imperial lineage stranded in the Piedmontese foothills by geopolitical accident.