4 Ducats - Guglielmo IX Paleologo

Guglielmo IX ruled Montferrat under persistent pressure from both France and Milan, his small march squeezed between powers that regarded it primarily as a military corridor. The 4-ducat multiple was not a circulation piece — it was struck for presentation, diplomacy, and the kind of conspicuous exchange between courts that smaller denominations could not perform. Montferrat's minting authority during this period was technically a fief of the Holy Roman Empire, and these heavy gold multiples implicitly asserted a sovereignty the march's geography constantly undermined.

Guglielmo died in 1518 without a male heir, triggering succession disputes that would eventually draw in the Gonzaga of Mantua.