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Quattrino - Guidobaldo I of Montefeltro Ostrich
| Issuer | Duchy of Urbino (Italian States) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1482-1508 |
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| Shape | Round (irregular) |
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| Obverse description | An ostrich displayed in left profile occupies the central field, rendered in the bold but roughly executed style characteristic of small Renaissance hammered coinage. The bird holds a nail or horseshoe nail crosswise in its beak, a well-known heraldic device and personal impresa of the Montefeltro dynasty. The legend, commencing at the lower left and running clockwise around the periphery, identifies the issuing ruler. A beaded or cable inner border frames the design, visible particularly along the left edge of the flan. |
|---|---|
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| Obverse lettering | GVI VB DVX VRB (Translation: Guidobaldo, Duke of Urbino) |
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| Additional information |
Guidobaldo I inherited Urbino from his father Federico da Montefeltro in 1482 at age ten, and his reign was anything but stable — Cesare Borgia seized the duchy outright in 1502, forcing Guidobaldo into exile before a popular uprising restored him the following year. Small bronze issues like this quattrino were the everyday transaction coinage of a court that Federico had made one of the most celebrated in Italy, even as Guidobaldo struggled to hold it together politically. The ostrich device was a Montefeltro dynastic emblem inherited from Federico himself.