W. C a r e w H a z l i t t Coinage of the European Continent

Catalogue of European Mints 131
Milan, a Lombard and Carlovingian mint in the 8th and Qth c. ;
subsequently one of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, and in succession the
seat of coinage of the republic, of the Visconti and Sforza-Visconti
families, of the French, Spanish, and Austrian rulers or occupiers of
Lombardy, and of the kingdom under Napoleon I. Like Rome, Ferrara,
Pesaro, and Venice, Milan enjoyed the advantage of a man of genius in
some of its numismatic productions
: from 1483 to 1500 Leonardo da
Vinci designed at least one coin for the Duke Lodovico II Moro. Charles
VI. of Germany (1711-40) issued as Duke of Milan some roughly-struck
copper pieces of irregular form with his portrait, and we have soldi and
\ soldi in the same series of his daughter Maria Theresa, of whom there
is a rare silver scudo as Duchess of Milan, 1779, as well as lower denominations.
There is a Spanish lira and \ lira of Joseph II. of Germany
struck here on the occasion of his inauguration as Duke of Milan, July
25, 1781. It is known as the lira del juramento. During the siege of
Mantua, Bonaparte struck at Milan billon pieces of 10 and 5 soldi and
;
there is likewise a cast soldo of very thick and coarse fabric belonging to
the same series. There are several very rare proofs of the coinage of the
Cisalpine Republic (1800-4) m silver and bronze. Cat. Rossi, 1880,
Nos. 2641-47. Also some of that of 1848. Francis Joseph of Austria
continued to employ this mint down to 1859. Mdiola. Mediolanvm.
Dvx Mediolani or Mil., or M.
A doppio follaro of
Miletus, a mint of the Norman Counts (nth c.).
Roger I., 1072-1101, belongs here.
Minden, on the Wesel, Prussian Westphalia, the seat of coinage of
the bishops. There are bracteates in the series. A piece of 8 grosschen
was struck during the siege by the Duke of Brunswick in 1634.
Minorca, a mint of the Almohades in Spain (516-668), and possibly
with Majorca one of Mohammedan coinage down to about 1260, when
the Balearic Isles were formed into a kingdom by Arragon. Subsequently,
under Alfonso V. (1416-58), there was a special coinage for this island
with Minoricannn.
Mirandola, Italy, the place of origin of a billon quattrino with S.
Passid, Mirandvl., and the mint of ,the Pico family from 1515 to 1691.
Money in all metals was struck here and from the fact that the earliest
;
Pico (Gianfrancesco, 1515-33, a man of learning) issued the double
zecchino in gold, it is to be perhaps inferred that the coinage began some
time before his accession to the lordship.
exhibits a peculiar form of berretta.
The portrait on the early pieces
Mirecourt, Vosges, a mint of Ferri III., Duke of Lorraine, 1251-1303.
Mitau, capital of Courland, and perhaps the seat of the coinage of
the independent Dukes of Courland (representing the extinct Teutonic
Order) after 1561. The money is of Polish type, and does not appear to
have lasted beyond the end of the same century, although the duchy was
not extinguished till 1795. We have before us a piece with the bust of
the Duke on obv. and Mon. Ar. Dvcvm Cv. E. Sem. (silver money of
the Dukes of Courland and Senigaglia) ; the rev. reads ///. Gros. Ar. Tr.
Dvci'm Cvr. Et Sen. 1
596. There are also 6-groschen pieces, schillings,
and thalers, belonging to this series but ; they are all rare. Some add
Lithuania to the titles.
Modena, the seat of the coinage of successive forms of government
from the I2th to the present century. From 1226 to 1294 there was an
issue of grossi, danari, and bolognini under imperial authority, with De
Mvtina, or D. Mvtin. on rev. Between 1294 and 1306 Azzo d'Este held