Desana was among the smallest feudal lordships in the Po Valley, a minor county wedged between the larger ambitions of Savoy, Milan, and Mantua. Delfino Tizzone, who held the county from the 1570s until his death, had the right to strike coin — a privilege jealously guarded by Italian petty lords as much for prestige as for any fiscal utility. The output was almost certainly small, destined more for gifts and political gesture than trade.
Fabretti's references to Desana coinage note the extreme rarity of surviving pieces, a consequence of both limited mintage and the county's absorption into larger territorial units shortly after.
Desana was among the smallest feudal lordships in the Po Valley, a minor county wedged between the larger ambitions of Savoy, Milan, and Mantua. Delfino Tizzone, who held the county from the 1570s until his death, had the right to strike coin — a privilege jealously guarded by Italian petty lords as much for prestige as for any fiscal utility. The output was almost certainly small, destined more for gifts and political gesture than trade.
Fabretti's references to Desana coinage note the extreme rarity of surviving pieces, a consequence of both limited mintage and the county's absorption into larger territorial units shortly after.