ITALY. Savoia (Ducato). Emanuele Filiberto, 1553-1580. Testone 1578 ✱ (Silver, 29 mm, 9.35 g, 2 h), variety with small cross on the reverse, Chambéry. [E◦PHILI]BERTVS◦DVX◦[S]ABAVDI[E] Cuirassed bust of Emanuele Filiberto to right. Rev. AVXILIVM◦MEV[M◦]A['DOMI]NO◦I◦[M◦] Crowned coat of arms, ◦1578◦ below. Biaggi -. Gadoury, 15 October 2022, 703 (same obverse die). MIR -. Simonetti -. Exceedingly rare and nicely toned. Some areas of weakness, scratches and doubling, otherwise, nearly very fine.


This exceedingly rare teston represents the original version of a type whose reverse design was soon abandoned in favor of a revised issue bearing a much larger cross (Biaggi 425a). Although no mintage figures are recorded, the coin's apparent status as a prototype strongly suggests that production was extremely limited.