World coins chat: Italian States - Mantua

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The Duchy of Mantua was an Italian State in Northern Italy associated with the Holy Roman Empire. It existed from 1530 until 1708, after which it was ruled directly by the Austrian Emperor until the Napoleonic Wars. The Duchy of Mantua also included the Piedmontese enclave of Casale Montferrat and the French city of Nevers, both of which had their own coinages under the dukes of Mantua.


Flag of the Duchy of Mantua


Map showing Mantua and Montferrat with its fortified town of Casale


History
The House of Gonzaga acquited the title of Marquis in 1433, after having ruled the city since 1328. In 1530 it was upgraded to a duchy. The direct line of the Gonzaga dynasty came to an end in 1627, and was succeeded by the Nevers branch of the family. Charles of Gonzaga-Nevers, a Frenchman, was not preferred by the Austrians during a time that the Thirty Year War (1618-1648) ravaged large parts of Europe. The Austrians sacked Mantua in 1630 and also brought the plague with them. Even though Charles was eventually accepted as duke, Mantua never fully recovered from these disastrous events.


The Ducal Palace of Mantua still exists today.

During the War of the Spanish Succession (1700-1714) Duke Charles Ferdinand of Mantua allied with France and Spain. The Austrians deposed him and at his death in 1708 the Habsburgs claimed Mantua for themselves under direct Austrian rule. From 1786 until 1791 Mantua was part of the Duchy of Milan, all within the Austrian Empire.

Mantua was besieged by French Republican forces in 1796, and it fell in 1797. Two years later it was recaptured by a Austro-Russian force, but the French retook Mantua in 1800 when it joined the Cisalpine Republic (1796-1802) for the second time. Mantua was subsequently part of the Italian Republic (1802-1806) and the Kingdom of Italy (1806-1814), all French client states. After Napoleon's defeat Mantua became part of the Austrian-controlled Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia.

Italian unification
During the First Italian War of Independence (1848-9) Mantua was besieged successfully by Austrian troops. Mantua remained with Austria when Lombardy was ceded to Sardinia in 1859, but in 1866 it joined Italy after Austria was quickly defeated when it was also attacked by Prussia in the Austro-Prussian War. Ever since Mantua has been a little-known quiet historic town.

Currency
The prime unit of account was the Lira, divided in 20 Soldi each of 12 Denari. A Sesino was worth 6 Denari. Silver and gold coins were minted in various denominations, but their value fluctuated, especially after the Mantovese Lira's value suffered greatly because of the hardships following the destruction and plague caused by the War of Mantuan Succession of 1630. By 1800 the Mantovese Lira had fallen to a third of a Milanese Lira. It was eventually replaced by the Italian Lira (Latin Monetary Union standard) at a rate of 3.908 Mantovese Lira.

Silver coinage
The Scudo was a silver coin of around 26 grams initially worth 6 Lire in 1600, and remained a unit of account at that rate, even though the silver coin itself was valued at 19 Lire 7 Soldi by 1800. The Ducatone was a larger silver coin of around 31 grams worth 6 Lire 4 Soldi in 1589, 8 Lire in the early 1600's and 10 Lire by 1626. In 1800 it was valued at 25 Lire 7 Soldi. A Tallero was a coin of varying weights between 20 and 28 grams of silver, and hence varying nominal values according to its silver contents.

Gold coinage
A gold Scudo was valued at 4 Lire 2 Soldi in 1519, rising to 7 Lire 19 Soldi by 1597. The Doppia of Mantua was worth 26 Lire in the 1600's, and rose in value along with silver coinage over the centuries. It was roughly worth 3 silver Ducatone or 75 Lire 9 Soldi by 1800.

Siege coinage
There are a lot of examples of siege coinage from Mantua and Casale. The first were minted during the War of Mantuan Succession in 1630, with coin separate series for Mantua and Casale. In 1796, when the Austrians defended the city against a French siege, a 20 Soldi coin was minted. In 1798, the French defenders minted brass coins of 1/2 and 1 Soldo di Milano when Mantua was besieged by an Austro-Russian force. And during the Austrian siege of Mantua in 1848 the Mint of Mantua, defunct for 50 years, was reinstated to mint Austrian coins with mint mark G.M.

Coinage of Casale-Monferrato
Casale-Monferrato used 3 different coin systems more or less at the same time. The unit of account was the silver Fiorino, divided in 12 Grossi each of 4 Quarti. The Cavalotto usually passed for 3 Grossi and the Parpagliola for 6 Grossi. Silver and gold Scudos were worth 18 and 24 Fiorini respectively, with a Doppia at 48 Fiorini.

In parallel a system Lira = 20 Soldi = 240 Denari was also in place, with a Lira equal to 6 Fiorini. A Testone was 15 Soldi.

On top of that, there was also the Tallero worth 16 Bianchi, with 1 Bianco set at 7 Grossi.

Coins of Mantua:
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/italie_etats-11.html#devise1357

Coins of Casale:
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/italie_etats-1.html#devise2259
Added the monetary systems of Casale-Monferrato and also updated the catalogue for Casale. I will request to change the currency from Tallero to Fiorino.

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