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1 Luigino - Livia
| Issuer | Tassarolo, County of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1666 |
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| Value | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Technique | Milled |
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| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Crowned shield of arms bearing the French royal arms of three fleurs-de-lis arranged two over one, the crown rendered in elaborate detail above the escutcheon. The date 1666 is divided by the shield, with the mintmark 'T' appearing below the shield at the base of the design. A circular Latin legend surrounds the composition in the field. |
| Reverse script | Latin |
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| Edge | Log in to see details |
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| Additional information |
Tassarolo was a tiny Imperial fief in Liguria controlled by the Spinola family, who exploited a loophole in the Holy Roman Empire's minting rights to produce luigini — small silver coins cynically engineered to imitate French louis d'argent at fractional weight. These flooded the Levant trade routes throughout the 1660s, where Levantine merchants initially accepted them at face value before the Ottoman authorities caught on. The operation was essentially sanctioned counterfeiting at a feudal scale.
The "Livia" designation refers to Livia Centuriona Oltremarino, the ruling countess under whose authority this piece was struck.