Sale: Triton IX, Lot: 1941. Estimate $40000.  Closing Date: Monday, 9 January 2006.  Sold For $35000. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

ITALY, Savoy. Emanuele Filiberto. 1553-1580. AR Tallero (28.25 g, 11h). Aosta or Vercelli mint. Dated 1558. +EMANVEL 22 PHILIB 22 DVX 22 SABAV 2 S 2 R2 IMP 2 P, half-length armored bust of Emanuele left, holding baton and sword / +AVXILIVM 22 MEVM 22 A DOMINO 221558, cruciform coat-of-arms of Savoy, the HRE, Monferrat, Sassonia and Lusignan, with plumed towers between. S. Cudazzo, Casa Savoia (Pavia, 2005), 502 (this coin); CNI I p. 191, 39; Morosini III, p. 147, 6; Davenport 8370. VF, toned, a few flan striations. One of the great rarities in the Italian series. ($40,000)

Ex E. Gnecchi Collection (Hamburger, 7 January, 1902), lot 5006.

When Emanuele Filiberto succeded his father Carlo III in 1553 he was essentially a duke without a duchy. A series of wars involving French, Spanish and Swiss forces had devasted Savoy, and by 1536 Francis I had brought the duchy under complete French rule. Emanuele in exile served the king of Spain as governor-general of the Lowlands, and in 1557 delivered a devastating defeat to the French at St. Quentin. As part of subsequent negotiations the Duke was confirmed as the independent ruler of Savoy, assuming full control of his duchy in 1559. The extremely rare talleros of 1556 and 1558 show a strong German influence, probably reflecting the Duke's martial activities in northern Europe. Emmanuel Philibert made Turin his capital, thus shifting the center of his duchy from France to Italy, and Savoy's growing influence in Italian affairs led to the establishment of the House of Savoy as the royal Italian house in 1861.