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1 Testone - Carlo V
| Issuer | Duchy of Milan |
|---|---|
| Year | 1535-1556 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | The goddess Salus, draped and standing to the right, feeds a serpent coiled around an altar or staff, a classical allusion to health and prosperity. Below, the river god Padus (the Po River) reclines to the left, leaning on an urn from which water flows, his semi-draped figure rendered in the antique manner. The scene references the fertility and well-being of the Duchy of Milan and its principal waterway. The legend SALVS AVG VSTA encircles the upper field, while PADVS MDL appears in the lower exergual area, the latter referring to the Po River and the date expressed in Roman numerals (1550). The composition reflects the humanist numismatic tradition of the Italian Renaissance. |
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| Additional information |
Carlo V absorbed Milan into Habsburg control in 1535 following the death of Francesco II Sforza, the last Sforza duke, who died without a legitimate heir. Rather than install a new duke, Carlo governed Milan directly as a imperial fief — the first time in generations the duchy had no nominal Italian sovereign. The testone series issued under his authority thus marks a genuine administrative rupture, not merely a change of face on the die.
MIR 285 documents several die variants across the twenty-one year emission, a predictable consequence of sustained production across multiple engravers at the Milan mint.