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1 Testone - Ludovico II and Pierluca I
| Issuer | Masserano |
|---|---|
| Year | 1521-1528 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Reference(s) | MB#15, MIR#683, CNI II#7 |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Edge | Plain |
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| Additional information |
Masserano was a tiny feudal lordship in Piedmont, and the joint rule of Ludovico II and Pierluca I Ferrero — brothers holding the territory in condominium — represents an unusual dynastic arrangement that briefly gave this otherwise negligible fief the right to strike silver. The testone denomination was itself a northern Italian innovation of the late fifteenth century, designed to compete with the heavier silver coinages flooding Italian markets from the Swiss cantons and the Empire.
CNI II records only a handful of die pairings for this type. Production almost certainly ceased when Pierluca I's ecclesiastical career — he became Bishop of Vercelli in 1528 — ended the joint secular authority that justified the mint's operation.