Genoese Lira

The Genoese lira ( it, Lira genovese) was the currency of the Republic of Genoa until 1797.

History

The mint in the Republic of Genoa began its production around 1138, with coins introduced in line with similar versions issued in the rest of Europe, as follows:
* The silver '' denaro'' in 1138, containing 1.06 grams of 1/3 fine silver (or 84.8 g fine silver in a lira);
* The silver '' grosso'' in 1172 worth 4 ''denari'', of 1.4 g 23/24 of fine silver (or 80.5 g fine silver in a lira);
* The gold '' Genovino d'oro'' in 1252, at about the same time as the Florentine florin; of 3.5 g fine gold, and worth 1/2 lira (each lira worth either 7 g fine gold or 70 g fine silver);
* The ''testone'' or 1-lira coin before 1500, containing about 13 g of 23/24 fine silver (or 12.5g fine). It was the highest-valued Italian coin unit in the end of the 15th century.

Genoese currency became important in the 16th century during the Golden age of Genoese banking, with the Spanish Empire funnelling its massive wealth from Spanish America through the Bank of Saint George. Genoa then introduced new coins, namely:
* The large ''scudo d'argento'', copying the Milanese ''ducaton'', with 36.64 g fine silver, and worth 4 ''lire'' as of 1602;
* The gold ''scudo d'oro'', copying the ''Spanish escudo'', with 3.026 g fine gold, and also worth 4 ''lire'' as of 1602;
* The gold ''doppio'' or 2-scudo coin, also known as the doubloon or pistole.

With the decline in the fortunes of the Genoese banks and the Spanish Empire in the 17th century, however, the Genoese lira also depreciated substantially. The silver scudo's value increased to 6.5 lire in 1646, 7.4 lire in 1671, and 8.74 lire just before the Austrian occupation of Genoa in 1746.

The lira in existence from the 12th century was later called the lira ''moneta buona'' (good money) or lira ''fuori banco'' (outside the bank) to disambiguate from the huge array of auxiliary units used by Genoa's banking industry to account for various currencies brought there over the centuries. Each lira or unit below also divided into 20 soldi or 240 denari; the various units are as follows: Description of units https://books.google.com/books?id=MJnPAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA156#v=onepage&q&f=false
* The lira ''moneta buona'' or lira ''fuori banco'', with 4.19 g fine silver in 1746;
* The ''lira banco'' worth 1.15 lire, the accounting unit of deposits in the Bank of Saint George, and also dividing into ''soldi banco'' and ''denari banco'';
* The ''lira moneta di paghi'' worth 1.214 lire for counting Spanish dollars, and the ''lira di cartulario'' worth 1.942 lire for accounting bullion sales (the various units tied up as follows: Scudo d'Argento = 8.74 lire = 7.6 lire banco = 7.2 lire ''moneta di paghi'' = 4.5 lire ''di cartulario'');
* Other units used for exchange quotations: the ''pezza'' worth 5.75 lire, the ''Scudo d'Argento'' worth 8.74 lire, the ''Scudo d'Oro'' worth 10.81 lire, and the ''Scudo di Cambio'' worth 4.6 lire; each of these units also divide into ''soldi'' and ''denari''.

After the 1746 siege the Genoese lira was devalued with the ''scudo d'argento'' rising from 8.74 to 9.5 lire (or 3.86 g fine silver in a lira). When the period of the Republic ended in 1797, the one lira coin weighed 4.16 g at 8/9 fine, equal to 3.70 g fine silver or 0.239 g fine gold.

From 1797 the Genoese lira and all its auxiliary units were replaced by the French franc, and afterwards the Italian lira. However, the Mint of Genoa remained in operation by issuing coins until 1860.

References

{{Republic of Genoa

Republic of Genoa
Currencies of Italy
Obsolete Italian currencies
Medieval currencies
Coins of Italy