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1 soldo - Besso Ferrero Fieschi
| Issuer | Masserano |
|---|---|
| Year | 1568-1581 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Reference(s) | MIR#746/8 II#45/46 |
| Obverse description | Crowned heraldic shield of the Ferrero Fieschi family arms, centrally positioned and cutting into the surrounding circular legend at the top. The shield is flanked on either side by a small floret ornament. The peripheral legend in Latin is rendered in Gothic-influenced characters typical of late 16th-century Italian minor coinage. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Central large bezant surrounded by four smaller bezants at the cardinal points, enclosed within a decorative cross composed of eight half-circles terminating in lily-form finials, creating an ornate quatrefoil-like arrangement. The entire design is circumscribed by a circular Latin legend separated by star and floret stops, with the date 1574 concluding the inscription. The overall style is characteristic of the regional Italian hammered billon coinage of the later sixteenth century. |
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| Additional information |
Masserano was a tiny feudal lordship in Piedmont whose mint operated largely because the Ferrero Fieschi family had secured imperial minting privileges — a convenience that small lords exploited to produce low-denomination billon that circulated regionally while the lord quietly profited from seigniorage. Besso Ferrero Fieschi ruled from 1528 until his death in 1584, and the dating of this issue to 1568–1581 places it within a period of intensifying Savoyard pressure on the autonomous prerogatives of Piedmontese minor lords.
The MIR reference distinguishes two die variants under 746/8, cross-referenced in Install II as 45/46.