Piacenza passed to the Spanish Bourbons under the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748, and Ferdinando I ruled the duchy as a largely autonomous client state under Bourbon patronage. This billon issue spans the period when the duchy's finances were under chronic pressure — the small denomination effectively subsidizing daily transactions while silver was hoarded or exported. The MIR distinction from C#7.2 suggests minor die or legend variants documented by later specialists, a common complication with provincial billon coinage of this region.
Piacenza passed to the Spanish Bourbons under the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748, and Ferdinando I ruled the duchy as a largely autonomous client state under Bourbon patronage. This billon issue spans the period when the duchy's finances were under chronic pressure — the small denomination effectively subsidizing daily transactions while silver was hoarded or exported. The MIR distinction from C#7.2 suggests minor die or legend variants documented by later specialists, a common complication with provincial billon coinage of this region.