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Grosso 'with Eagle' - Louis I or Guy Gonzaga
| Issuer | Mantua, Duchy of |
|---|---|
| Year | 1328-1369 |
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| Currency | Grosso Agontano |
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| Obverse description | Displayed eagle with wings spread and head turned to the right, occupying the central field of the coin. The eagle is rendered in a bold, schematic medieval style typical of northern Italian hammered coinage of the 14th century. The surrounding circular legend is interrupted by a small shield of Mantova serving as a terminal mark. A beaded inner border frames the design, with an additional beaded outer border following the coin's irregular flan edge. |
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| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
The Gonzaga seized Mantua from the Bonacolsi family in a single night of violence in August 1328 — Luigi Gonzaga led the coup with Scaligeri backing, and the dynasty that would hold the city for nearly four centuries began with a massacre in the piazza. This grosso, attributable to either Luigi I or his son Guido, was struck during the family's earliest decades of signoria, before they had secured imperial legitimation or the titles that would follow.
The eagle on this type reflects Gonzaga alignment with Ghibelline imperial politics, a positioning that was as much survival strategy as ideology in fourteenth-century Lombardy.