1 Sesino - Francesco Farnese

Francesco Farnese ruled Parma and Piacenza from 1694 until his death in 1727, a reign marked by careful navigation between Bourbon France and Habsburg Austria during the War of the Spanish Succession. Small copper issues like this sesino bore the brunt of everyday market transactions in a duchy that, despite its cultural prestige, operated a chronically strained treasury. Francesco died without a legitimate heir, triggering a succession crisis that ultimately ended Farnese rule in Parma entirely by 1731.