Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
Bianco - Vespasiano Gonzaga
| Issuer | Duchy of Sabbioneta |
|---|---|
| Year | 1574-1577 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Bianco |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Central field featuring a bold floriated or pattée cross enclosed within a lobed, quatrefoil-shaped cartouche or mandorla, all set within a double concentric border. The cross is rendered with broad arms and occupies the centre of the ornamental frame. A Latin devotional legend encircles the entire design along the outer border, separated by a beaded ring, invoking the Holy Cross of Christ. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | ND (1574-1577) |
| Additional information |
Vespasiano Gonzaga founded Sabbioneta from scratch — a planned Renaissance city he began constructing in the 1550s on flat Po Valley terrain, conceived as both a military stronghold and a model of humanist urban theory. The mint he established there was as much a prestige project as a fiscal one; a minor lord with grand ambitions needed coinage that announced dynastic legitimacy. The bianco, a mid-weight silver denomination common across northern Italian states, fit that purpose without overreaching.
Vespasiano received the title of Duke only in 1577 from Philip II of Spain, meaning pieces struck before that date carry his earlier style as Lord — a distinction that matters for attribution within the MIR 928 sequence.