Picciolo - Frederick of Montefeltro

Frederick of Montefeltro transformed Urbino from a minor hill lordship into one of the most celebrated courts of the Quattrocento, funded almost entirely by his career as a condottiere — at various points commanding troops for Naples, the Papacy, and Florence, often simultaneously playing factions against each other with remarkable impunity. The piccolo, the lowest fractional denomination, was the workhorse of daily market exchange and almost never saved, which explains why surviving examples of this billon issue are typically found heavily worn or corroded.

Frederick received the title of Duke only in 1474, a papal grant from Sixtus IV in partial payment for military services.