1 Quattrino - Federico II

Federico II Gonzaga received the ducal title from Charles V in 1530 — the elevation from marquis to duke was a direct reward for Mantua's loyalty during the sack of Rome three years earlier. The quattrino was the workhorse denomination of northern Italian copper coinage, circulating among laborers and market vendors who never handled silver. This particular type was struck across a six-year window that ended with Federico's death in 1540, though production was almost certainly heaviest in the early years following the title change.