Testone - Johann Jakob Trivulzio

The Trivulzio lordship over Mesocco — a strategically vital Alpine valley controlling access between Milan and the Graubünden — was itself a transaction. Johann Jakob Trivulzio, the celebrated Milanese condottiere who commanded French forces at the Battle of Fornovo in 1495, acquired the territory through wealth accumulated in military service to the French crown. He later sold the entire lordship to the Grisons in 1549, ending private coinage rights in the valley entirely.

The testone as a denomination originated in Milan in the 1470s and Trivulzio's issue of it reflects his deep Milanese connections.