Frederick I of Gonzaga held the marquisate — not yet a duchy — until his death in 1484, and these anonymous copper quattrini were struck without his name precisely because the denomination was too small to bother with dynastic branding. The "duchy" attribution in later references is a cataloguing convenience; Mantua was only elevated by the Emperor in 1530 under Federico II.
MIR 405 documents this type as attributable to the 1478–1484 window largely through hoard evidence rather than documentary mint records, which are fragmentary for Mantuan copper of this period.
Frederick I of Gonzaga held the marquisate — not yet a duchy — until his death in 1484, and these anonymous copper quattrini were struck without his name precisely because the denomination was too small to bother with dynastic branding. The "duchy" attribution in later references is a cataloguing convenience; Mantua was only elevated by the Emperor in 1530 under Federico II.
MIR 405 documents this type as attributable to the 1478–1484 window largely through hoard evidence rather than documentary mint records, which are fragmentary for Mantuan copper of this period.