1 Testone - Sixtus V S.Peter, Bust

Felice Peretti's pontificate as Sixtus V lasted only five years, from 1585 to 1590, but his fiscal and administrative overhaul of the Papal States was aggressive enough to leave a permanent mark on Roman governance. He restructured the Curia, created fifteen new congregations, and — critically for coinage — reorganized the mint at Rome with enough force that output from his brief reign is more varied in type than many longer pontificates. The testone was his workhorse denomination for large silver transactions during the rebuilding of Rome, which included the completion of the dome of St. Peter's.