This ducat was minted in Genoa and is one the earliest ducats struck outside Venice, where they were developed. It was issued by Filippo Maria Visconti (1421-1435), whose coins still reflected medieval style of coinage – the obverse with the Christian cross, the reverse with the front wall of a temple. Only Filippo Maria's ambitious son-in-law Francesco Sforza, who would take over power in Milan in 1447, would start issuing coins with portraits in true Renaissance style.