Desana (1510-25) testone

Sincona sale 83, lot 4516

This specimen was lot 4516 in Sincona sale 83 (Zürich, May 2023), where it sold for 525 CHF (about US$703 including buyer's fees). The catalog description^[1] noted,

"Ludovico II Tizzone, 1510-1525. Testone o. J. (erstes Viertel des 16. Jahrhunderts), Desana. Einköpfiger Adler nach links. . LVD . TICIO . DECI . CO . VIC . IMP . . Rv. Stehender Heiliger mit Nimbus in Rüstung von vorne, in der Rechten einen Fahnenwimpel, in der Linken ein Schwert haltend. + . SANCTVS .ALEXANDER . ~ . . Sehr selten. Fast sehr schön (Louis II Tizzone, 1510-1525, undated testone, from the first quarter of the fifteenth century, Desana mint. Obverse: single headed eagle to left; reverse: standing saint with halo, armored and holding a pennant and a sword. Very rare, About very fine). Exemplar aus Hess-Divo, Zürich, Auktion 298, Lot 1391. Beischlag zum Testone von Michele Antonio Saluzzo aus der Münzstätte Carmagnola (Supplement to the testone by Michele Antonio Saluzzo from the Carmagnola mint)."

Today Desana is an insignificant village in the Piedmont region of Italy, population 1,085 as of 2004. It was a semi-independent enclave in the duchy of Savoy, ruled by the Tizzoni 1411-1693. A mint was opened in 1510 to strike imitations of coins of neighboring states.

Recorded mintage: unknown.

Specification: silver, this specimen is 9.25 g.

Catalog reference: MIR (Piemonte) 444.

Source:

• ^[1]Richter, Jürg, SINCONA Auction 83, World and Swiss Coins and Medals, Zürich: SINCONA AG, 2023.

Link to:

• Carmagnola (1504-28) testone
• Desana (1515-16) testone, Francesco Mareuil
• Desana (1516-29) testone, Pietro Berard
• Coins and currency dated 1510