Ferdinando Gonzaga inherited Montferrat through the male Gonzaga line while simultaneously holding the title Duke of Mantua, a dual tenure that kept the small marquisate perpetually entangled in the broader Gonzaga inheritance disputes that would eventually ignite the War of the Mantuan Succession in 1628 — two years after his death. His reign over Montferrat was administratively thin, and the coinage reflects a territory minting largely out of obligation rather than economic vitality. Billon issues of this type circulated in a region squeezed between French and Spanish imperial interests, both of whom had treaty claims over Montferrat's ultimate disposition.
Ferdinando Gonzaga inherited Montferrat through the male Gonzaga line while simultaneously holding the title Duke of Mantua, a dual tenure that kept the small marquisate perpetually entangled in the broader Gonzaga inheritance disputes that would eventually ignite the War of the Mantuan Succession in 1628 — two years after his death. His reign over Montferrat was administratively thin, and the coinage reflects a territory minting largely out of obligation rather than economic vitality. Billon issues of this type circulated in a region squeezed between French and Spanish imperial interests, both of whom had treaty claims over Montferrat's ultimate disposition.