Louis XII of France held Milan as Duke from 1500 following his conquest of the city, a claim he pressed through his grandmother Valentina Visconti. The trillina was the smallest practical denomination in Milanese circulation, a billon coin ground through daily commerce until most examples are barely legible. The three lilies of the French royal house replaced the Sforza emblems with deliberate political intent — coinage being one of the fastest instruments available for broadcasting a change of sovereignty to an illiterate population.
Louis lost Milan definitively in 1512 when Swiss forces restored Massimiliano Sforza, closing this short French interlude and ending production of the type.
Louis XII of France held Milan as Duke from 1500 following his conquest of the city, a claim he pressed through his grandmother Valentina Visconti. The trillina was the smallest practical denomination in Milanese circulation, a billon coin ground through daily commerce until most examples are barely legible. The three lilies of the French royal house replaced the Sforza emblems with deliberate political intent — coinage being one of the fastest instruments available for broadcasting a change of sovereignty to an illiterate population.
Louis lost Milan definitively in 1512 when Swiss forces restored Massimiliano Sforza, closing this short French interlude and ending production of the type.