Genoa (1507) testone
This specimen was lot 42402 in Stack's Bowers ANA sale (Oklahoma City, OK, August 2025), where it sold for $2,400. The catalog description[1] noted, "ITALY. Genoa. Testone (Lira), ND (1507). Louis XII of France. NGC AU-58. A VERY RARE issue from the French monarch, Louis XII (in his role as Signore of Genoa), and a type that has appeared in public auction only a handful of times over the past quarter century. The present example offers admirable quality, with a full obverse strike and pleasing slate-gray surfaces. For completeness, some double-striking is evident upon the reverse." Numista shows several testone for Louis XII but they weigh only 9.3-9.6 g and were intended to be fifteen soldi pieces. This one, with its greater weight, probably passed for twenty soldi. French attempts to conquer northern Italy were strongly resisted by the Sforzas of Milan and later by Charles V, who took Milan for himself after the extinction of the Sforzas. Genoa gradually became a satellite of the Spanish Hapsburgs.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: silver, this specimen 12.11 g.
Catalog reference: MIR-156.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, August 2025 Global Showcase Auction, World & Ancient Coins, featuring The Richard August Collection and the Richard Margolis Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2025.
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