PHILIP II: (1527-1598) King of Spain 1556-98. During his marriage to Queen Mary I of England, he was King of ...

PHILIP II: (1527-1598) King of Spain 1556-98. During his marriage to Queen Mary I of England, he was King of England and Ireland 1554-58. Rare L.S., `Yo El Rey´, one page, folio, Madrid, 15th November 1576, to `..the Duke, Governor and captain General´, in old Spanish. The document states in part `..Crisafa de Lodopoli, widow, reports that while Captain Francisco Enriquez Castellano was imprisoned by the Turks, her husband Juan Ladico gave him a loan of fifty Venetian gold cequines, equivalent to fifteen reales each, to help with his ransom. And having agreed that the mentioned amount plus interests would be returned in Naples either to him or to his procurator, and having tried to sort this out friendly, she reports that nothing has been returned and that six years have past…´ The King states that the widow must be attended and the amount due returned, and orders his correspondent to attend all her claims and amounts requested promptly. Countersigned by Vargas. With a paper seal affixed to the verso address leaf in fine condition. Two small holes to the left border as a result of a former binding and right edge slightly trimmed, otherwise G The ''Zecchino'' (`cequines´ in the present letter), was a gold coin of 3,5 grams, 986 pure, used by the Republic of Venetia in 1284. First called ''Ducat'', and from 1543 called Zecchino after Jacobo D´Antonio Sansovino, called ''Zecca''. Venetia called from then on ''Ducat'' the silver coin. Luis de Zuñiga y Requesens. Ambassador to Rome, Captain General of Milan and Governor of the Netherlands succeeding the Duke of Alba, under King Philip II with who he was educated since childhood. Luis de Zuñiga was the tutor of John of Austria (1547-1578 Illegitimate son of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. Military leader at the service of his half-brother Philip II. John of Austria fought at the Battle of Lepanto as Admiral of the Holy Alliance fleet.