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1 Ducato `Ongaro` - Agostino Spinola Austria coat of arms
| Issuer | County of Tassarolo (Italian States) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1604-1616 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 3.41 g |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | Imperial double-headed eagle displayed, with wings spread, surmounted by a crown, and bearing on its breast an oval shield charged with the Austrian barry arms. The eagle is rendered in high relief with detailed feathering on each wing and head, typical of Habsburg-affiliated coinage of the period. The circular Latin legend VIRTVTE * CAESAREA * DVCE * (By Imperial Virtue as Guide) surrounds the design within a beaded border, affirming the count's loyalty to the Habsburg Emperor. |
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| Additional information |
Tassarolo was a minuscule Imperial fief in the Ligurian Apennines, and the Spinola family's right to strike coin there derived directly from privileges granted by the Holy Roman Emperor — a technicality the Genoese republic deeply resented, as it placed an autonomous mint practically within their commercial orbit. Agostino Spinola exploited that privilege aggressively, producing ducats closely imitating Hungarian gold coinage, the so-called "ongaro" type, precisely because Hungarian ducats enjoyed universal merchant acceptance across Mediterranean trade networks.
The imitation was the point. Tassarolo's output circulated on the strength of a borrowed reputation.