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Testone - Johann Franz Trivulzio
| Issuer | Lordship of Mesocco |
|---|---|
| Year | 1518-1549 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1 Testone |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Bust of Johann Franz Trivulzio (Gian Giacomo Trivulzio's successor as Lord of Mesocco) facing left, depicted in Renaissance style with shoulder-length hair and armored pauldron visible at the truncation. The portrait is rendered in high relief within an inner beaded circle, conveying a dignified aristocratic effigy characteristic of early sixteenth-century Italian medallic art. The surrounding legend reads: ✥ FRANCISC ∙ TRIVL ∙ MAR ∙ VIGLE ∙ 7C, identifying the issuer as Francesco Trivulzio, Marquis of Vigevano and Count (et cetera), separated by pellet stops. |
|---|---|
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| Mintage | ND (1518-1549) |
| Additional information |
The Trivulzio family acquired Mesocco — a strategically vital valley controlling the San Bernardino pass between the Rhine and Po drainages — through marriage into the Sax-Misox dynasty in 1480. Johann Franz, as lord, exercised the minting privilege during a period when the valley was effectively a buffer between Swiss confederate expansion and Milanese political instability following the French invasions. The Lordship of Mesocco was ceded to the Graubünden in 1549, which coincides with the terminal date of this issue and almost certainly marks the end of independent minting rights there.