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1 Grosso `Aquilino` - Francesco I Gonzaga
| Issuer | Duchy of Mantua (Italian States) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1383-1407 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Hammered |
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| Obverse description | Heraldic eagle displayed with wings spread and head turned to the right, rendered in fine detail with individually engraved feathers, occupying the central field within a beaded inner circle. The bird, the so-called aquila giving this grosso its popular name 'Aquilino', is depicted in a bold, gothic heraldic style characteristic of late-medieval north Italian coinage. A Latin legend in uncial characters surrounds the eagle between the beaded inner circle and the toothed outer border, reading FR D GONZAGA, interrupted by floral rosette stops. The flan is irregular in shape, as typical of hand-struck hammered coinage of the period. |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Francesco I Gonzaga ruled Mantua as Captain-General rather than Duke — the title of Duke wouldn't come to the family until Gian Francesco received it from Emperor Sigismund in 1433. The *grosso aquilino* type takes its name from the eagle (*aquila*) borrowed from Imperial iconography, a deliberate signal of alignment with the Holy Roman Empire at a moment when northern Italian lords were maneuvering carefully between imperial and papal factions.
MIR LOM 377 is among the thinner-documented issues of the Gonzaga mint, with no firm surviving mintage figures.