The Roman scudo (

plural The plural (sometimes abbreviated pl., pl, or ), in many languages, is one of the values of the grammatical category of number. The plural of a noun typically denotes a quantity greater than the default quantity represented by that noun. This de ...

: ''scudi romani'') was the currency of the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...

until 1866. It was subdivided into 100 baiocchi ( singular: ''baiocco''), each of 5 quattrini ( singular: ''quattrino''). Other denominations included the ''grosso'' of 5 baiocchi, the ''carlino'' of baiocchi, the ''giulio'' and ''paoli'' both of 10 baiocchi, the ''testone'' of 30 baiocchi and the ''doppia'' of 3 scudi.

History

In addition to issues for the Papal States as a whole, the currency was also issued by many of the individual municipalities. In the late 18th century, this included issues from

Ancona Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic ...

, Ascoli,

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language, Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 1 ...

Civitavecchia Civitavecchia (; meaning "ancient town") is a city and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Rome in the central Italian region of Lazio. A sea port on the Tyrrhenian Sea, it is located west-north-west of Rome. The harbour is formed by two pier ...

Fano Fano is a town and ''comune'' of the province of Pesaro and Urbino in the Marche region of Italy. It is a beach resort southeast of Pesaro, located where the '' Via Flaminia'' reaches the Adriatic Sea. It is the third city in the region by po ...

Fermo Fermo (ancient: Firmum Picenum) is a town and ''comune'' of the Marche, Italy, in the Province of Fermo. Fermo is on a hill, the Sabulo, elevation , on a branch from Porto San Giorgio on the Adriatic coast railway. History The oldest hu ...

, Foligno,

Gubbio Gubbio () is an Italian town and ''comune'' in the far northeastern part of the Italian province of Perugia (Umbria). It is located on the lowest slope of Mt. Ingino, a small mountain of the Apennines. History The city's origins are very ancient. ...

Macerata Macerata () is a city and ''comune'' in central Italy, the county seat of the province of Macerata in the Marche region. It has a population of about 41,564. History The historical city centre is on a hill between the Chienti and Potenza ...

Matelica Matelica is a (municipality) of the Province of Macerata in the Italian region of Marche. Located about southwest of Ancona and west of Macerata, it extends over an area of . Geography Matelica lies in an ample valley where the Braccano cre ...

, Montalto, Pergola,

Perugia Perugia (, , ; lat, Perusia) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber, and of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and pa ...

Ronciglione Ronciglione (locally ) is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Viterbo, Lazio (central Italy), about from Viterbo. The city is located in the Cimini mountains, over two tuff scarps, on the SE slope of the former volcano crater now housing ...

, San Severino,

Spoleto Spoleto (, also , , ; la, Spoletum) is an ancient city in the Italian province of Perugia in east-central Umbria on a foothill of the Apennines. It is S. of Trevi, N. of Terni, SE of Perugia; SE of Florence; and N of Rome. History Spolet ...

Terni Terni ( , ; lat, Interamna (Nahars)) is a city in the southern portion of the region of Umbria in central Italy. It is near the border with Lazio. The city is the capital of the province of Terni, located in the plain of the Nera river. It is ...

, Tivoli and

Viterbo Viterbo (; Viterbese: ; lat-med, Viterbium) is a city and ''comune'' in the Lazio region of central Italy, the capital of the province of Viterbo. It conquered and absorbed the neighboring town of Ferento (see Ferentium) in its early history ...

. Uniquely in

the baiocco, also known as 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 ...

'', was subdivided into 6 quattrini. Between 1798 and 1799, the revolutionary French forces established the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Ki ...

, which issued coins denominated in baiocco and scudo. In addition, the municipalities of Ancona, Civitavecchia, Clitunno, Foligno, Gubbio, Pergola and Perugia issued coins in the name of the Roman Republic. In 1808, the Papal States were annexed by France, and the

French franc The franc (, ; sign: F or Fr), also commonly distinguished as the (FF), was a currency of France. Between 1360 and 1641, it was the name of coins worth 1 livre tournois and it remained in common parlance as a term for this amount of money. It w ...

circulated officially. When the Pope's authority was restored in 1814, the scudo was restored as the currency. However, outside Rome solely the coinage of Bologna was resumed. In 1849, another

was established which issued coins centrally and in Ancona. In 1866, the scudo was replaced by the lira, equivalent to the

Italian lira The lira (; plural lire) was the currency of Italy between 1861 and 2002. It was first introduced by the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy in 1807 at par with the French franc, and was subsequently adopted by the different states that would eventually ...

, allowing the participation to the

Latin Monetary Union The Latin Monetary Union (LMU) was a 19th-century system that unified several European currencies into a single currency that could be used in all member states when most national currencies were still made out of gold and silver. It was establ ...

. The exchange rate used was 5.375 lire = 1 scudo.

Coins

In the late eighteenth century, coins were issued in copper in denominations of 1 quattrino, , 1, 2, and 5 baiocchi, along with Billon (alloy), billon coins for 1, 4, 8, 12, 25 and 50 baiocchi, 1 and 2 carlini, silver coins for 1 grosso, 1 and 2 giulio, 1 testone and 1 scudo, and gold coins for and 1 ''zecchino'' and 1 and 2 doppia. The individual states issued similar coinages, with the exception of Bologna, which additionally issued silver 12 baiocchi, scudo and 80 bolognini, and gold 2, 5 and 10 zecchini. The 1798 to 1799 Roman Republic issued copper , 1, 2 and 5 baiocchi and silver 1 scudo. After the restoration of the currency, billon coins were no longer issued and several other denominations disappeared. There were copper 1 quattrino, and 1 baiocco, silver 1 grosso, 1 and 2 giulio and 1 scudo, and gold 1 doppia. The silver testone was reintroduced in 1830, followed by 50 baiocchi in 1832. In 1835, a new coinage was introduced which abandoned all the denomination names except for the quattrino, baiocco and scudo. Copper coins were issued in denominations of 1 quattrino, and 1 baiocco, with silver 5, 10, 20, 30 and 50 baiocchi and 1 scudo, and gold , 5 and 10 scudi. In 1849, the Roman Republic issued a coinage consisting of copper , 1 and 3 baiocchi and silver 4, 8, 16 and 40 baiocchi. Following the restoration of the Papal States, copper 2 and 5 baiocchi were introduced.

Banknotes

From 1785, paper money was issued by the ''Santo Monte Della Pietà di Roma'' in denominations from 3 scudi up to 1500 scudi, while, from 1786, the ''Banco di Santo Spirito di Roma'' issued notes from 3 scudi up to 3000 scudi. The 1798 to 1799 Roman Republic issued notes in various denominations including 3 and 40 baiocchi, 8, 9 and 10 paoli. The treasury of the Papal States issued notes during the 19th century.

Notes

References

* {{refend

External links