2 Ducats - Francis II Gonzaga

Francis II ruled Mantua as a condottiere lord — his military career, not his governance, defined the period. He served multiple Italian powers, famously commanded the League forces at Fornovo in 1495 against Charles VIII's retreating French army, a battle both sides claimed as victory. Gold ducat issues from his reign were struck to a Venetian weight standard that Mantua had adopted, tying the duchy's currency credibility to the dominant commercial coinage of northern Italy rather than to any imperial or papal monetary framework.

The .986 fineness places this among the finest gold coinages of the period. Fornovo itself produced no clear winner — but Francis extracted a handsome ransom and considerable plunder from the engagement.