The Coinage of the Republic of Siena are the coins minted by the

Republic of Siena The Republic of Siena ( it, Repubblica di Siena, la, Respublica Senensis) was a historic state consisting of the city of Siena and its surrounding territory in Tuscany, central Italy. It existed for over 400 years, from 1125 to 1555. During its e ...

from the second half of the 12th century until the fall of the Republic of Siena exiled in

Montalcino Montalcino is a hill town and ''comune'' in the province of Siena, Tuscany, central Italy. The town is located to the west of Pienza, close to the Crete Senesi in Val d'Orcia. It is from Siena, from Florence and from Pisa. Monte Amiata is ...

(

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

) in 1559, following the

Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis Peace is a concept of societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. In a social sense, peace is commonly used to mean a lack of conflict (such as war) and freedom from fear of violence between individuals or groups. ...

History and characteristics of the Sienese coinage

The slow decline of the imperial authority and the decline of episcopal power led to the birth of a secular government in

Siena Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centuri ...

. The city, which had become a

free commune Medieval communes in the European Middle Ages had sworn allegiances of mutual defense (both physical defense and of traditional freedoms) among the citizens of a town or city. These took many forms and varied widely in organization and makeup. C ...

with a strong economic growth, now developed in its internal institutions, could not ignore the advantages deriving from the management of its own city mint and therefore already in the twelfth century the rising Sienese Republic was pressing for obtaining the right to mint coins. On March 22, 1176, the cities of

and

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

, still without their own coinage, entered into a monetary agreement mutually undertaking to use the currency of

Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the cit ...

for their commercial transactions, but the agreement did not last for long. On 2 February 1180 there was an official agreement between

and the

archbishop of Mainz The Elector of Mainz was one of the seven Prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire. As both the Archbishop of Mainz and the ruling prince of the Electorate of Mainz, the Elector of Mainz held a powerful position during the Middle Ages. The Archb ...

for the latter's release from the imprisonment of the Marquis Corrado di Monferrato. The high prelate was also an imperial chancellor of

Frederick I Frederick I may refer to: * Frederick of Utrecht or Frederick I (815/16–834/38), Bishop of Utrecht. * Frederick I, Duke of Upper Lorraine (942–978) * Frederick I, Duke of Swabia (1050–1105) * Frederick I, Count of Zoll ...

and under oath he undertook to obtain from the emperor the confirmation of the Sienese coin, in exchange for the payment of the ransom of 400 lire by the city. This clue therefore suggests that coins were already minted in a clandestine way in

before 1180. Although the concession diploma has never been traced, there is an indirect confirmation of the imperial authorization to the mint from a document of Henry VI dated May 1186 in which the city of

was deprived of the possibility of minting coins after being besieged (right then returned five months later). The first existing documentation of the Sienese currency is dated 11 January 1182, thanks to a license to build a monastery issued by the bishop of the city, who was charged a penalty of 100 lire in Sienese money. The

has always traditionally excluded from coins any reference to the emperor who gave it the concession. The Sienese coinage is instead characterized by the repetition of the same iconographies over the centuries: depicting an S in the front field and a cross in the back field. These iconography will continue until the end of the 15th century with the sole exception of the

Bolognino The Bolognino was a coin minted in Bologna and other cities of medieval Italy from the late 12th century to the 17th century. The coin originated in 1191, when emperor Henry VI granted Bologna the right to mint a silver denaro. In 1236 this un ...

coined with a resolution of 1450. Starting from the 16th century, the Sienese she-wolf with Senio and Aschio, the

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

and finally the shield of the

with LIBERTAS written on it was minted on the coins. Even in the legends there is a centuries-old repetitiveness of the representations: up to 1279 there is the inscription SENA VETVS on the front and ALFA ET ω on the back, while from 1279 to the 16th century on the front SENA VET CIVITAS VIRGINIS and on the back field ALFA ED O PRINCIPIV ET FINIS (phrase of biblical origin). From the sixteenth century there are some variations in SENA VETVS on the front field and CIVITAS VIRGINIS on the back. B. Paolozzi Strozzi, G. Toderi, F. Toderi, ‘’Le monete della Repubblica Senese’’, Monte dei Paschi di Siena, Milano, 1992, p. 30 Following the victory of the

in the battle of Porta Camollia in 1526, the legends on the back will become MANVS TVE DOMINE FECERVNT ME and SALVAVIT NOS DESTERA TVA, respectively in the Sienese

giulio Giulio () is an Italian given name. Notable people with the name include: * Giulio Alberoni (1664–1752), Italian cardinal and statesman * Giulio Alenio (1582–1649), Italian Jesuit missionary and scholar * Giulio Alfieri (1924–2002), Italian ...

coin and in the half-giulio. With the fall of

and the birth of the Republic of Siena exiled in

, the legends changed completely on the

coins minted from 1556 to 1559. Although the loss of the capital had already occurred in 1555, the Montalcino legends underline the survival of the Republic with the words RESPUBLICA SENENSIS IN MONTEILICINO, referring both to the

Virgin Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

(TUO CONFISI PRAESIDIO), and to the ally Henry II King of France (HENRICO II AUSPICE).

References

Bibliography

* B. Paolozzi Strozzi, G. Toderi, F. Toderi, Le monete della Repubblica Senese, Milano 1992. * D. Promis, Monete della Repubblica di Siena, Torino, 1868. * E. Gariel, Les monnaies royales de France sous la race carolingienne, Strasburgo 1883. * Agnolo di Tura del Grasso, Cronaca senese, in Cronache senesi, Bologna, 1931-1937 * D. Herlihy, Pisan coinage and the monetary development of Tuscany, 1150–1250, in American Numismatic Society, Museum Notes, VI, New York, 1954. {{Historic Italian currency and coinage Medieval currencies Republic of Siena Obsolete Italian currencies History of Siena

History and characteristics of the Sienese coinage

See also

References

Bibliography