Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
1 Soldo - Besso
| Issuer | Masserano |
|---|---|
| Year | 1576-1585 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Coin alignment ↑↓ |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Central field bearing a quartered heraldic shield displaying the arms of the Fieschi lords of Masserano, rendered in the typical hammered style of late 16th-century Italian feudal coinage. The shield is surrounded by a continuous Latin legend reading the abbreviated titles of the issuing lord. The overall design is characteristic of small billon issues struck for local circulation in the northern Italian principalities. The relief is shallow and slightly irregular, consistent with hand-hammered production. The coin's flan shows the typical uneven edge of a hand-cut planchet. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Central device featuring a floriated cross, a common reverse type on Italian feudal soldi of the period, dividing the field into four quarters. A fleur-de-lis or ornamental motif appears at the foot of the cross. The surrounding Latin legend incorporates the date 1579 and a pious motto. The engraving is typical of small-denomination hammered billon coinage from the Piedmontese feudal mints, with somewhat irregular letter spacing due to hand-punched dies. The plain edge and slightly cupped flan are consistent with locally struck issues of the Masserano lordship. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Masserano was a tiny imperial fief in Piedmont controlled by the Fieschi family, who held minting rights as counts under the Holy Roman Empire. These small billon soldi were struck during the rule of Besso Fieschi, whose tenure coincided with the broader fragmentation of coinage authority across northern Italy's minor lordships — a situation the Spanish-dominated duchy of Milan repeatedly attempted to suppress. Coins from jurisdictions this small rarely survived in quantity; most circulated hard in local markets and were pulled from use as debased or counterfeit.