ITALY. Milano (Duchi). Carlo I di Spagna (Carlo V, Sacro Romano Impero), 1535-1554. 32 Soldi imperiali o Burigozzo (Silver, 33 mm, 10.90 g, 1 h), no date (1539). CAROLVS•V•IMPERATOR Laureate and cuirassed bust of Carlo I di Spagna to right, wearing Collar of the Order of the Golden Fleece. Rev. SANCTVS•AMBROSIVS• // • MLM St. Ambrose, in episcopal regalia, standing slightly right on ground line, holding whip in his raised right hand and crozier in his left. CNI 31. Crippa III 8/D. MIR 282/1. Negrini/Varesi 278. Very Rare. An attractive example with beautiful old cabinet toning and an excellent old pedigree. The usual areas of weakness and minor doubling, otherwise, extremely fine.



This beautiful coin reflects the European power struggles fought on Italian soil in the first half of the 16th century. Charles V appears on the obverse of the coin as the undisputed ruler of the Duchy of Milan, which, in turn, is represented on the reverse by Milan's patron saint, St. Ambrose. In reality, Charles' power in Milan was far from uncontested. The French King Francis I (1494-1547) also laid claim to the duchy, considering himself the successor of the Visconti family, which had ruled Milan for a time.

The 32 Soldi imperiali, first minted in early 1539 with a fineness of approximately 94%, entered numismatic history under the name Burigozzo. This designation traces back to Giovan Marco Burigozzo, who first mentioned and described the coin in his mid-19th-century chronicle, recounting events in Milan between 1500 and 1544. In the late 19th century, the Gnecchi brothers were the first to officially establish Burigozzo as the coin’s denomination in his honor, a term later adopted into the CNI (Corpus Nummorum Italicorum).