4 Scudi - Ferdinand I

Ferdinand I de' Medici came to the grand duchy in 1587 under unusual circumstances — he was a cardinal who renounced his ecclesiastical rank to succeed his brother Francesco, whose death (along with his wife Bianca Cappello, on the same day) was widely suspected as poisoning, though never proven. Ferdinand proved a capable administrator who aggressively expanded Tuscan trade, including a calculated attempt to challenge Portuguese dominance of Levantine commerce through the port of Livorno. This four-scudi piece belongs to his early coinage, a denomination heavy enough to function in international mercantile settlement rather than domestic circulation.