Papal mint
Encyclopedia
The Papal Mint is the pope's
institute for the production of hard cash
. Papal Mint also refers to the buildings in Avignon
, Rome
, and elsewhere that used to house the mint. (The Italian word for mint is Zecca
).
being one of the regalia
(sovereign prerogatives), there can be no papal coin
s of earlier date than that of the temporal power of the popes. Nevertheless, there are coins of Pope Zacharias (741-52), of Gregory III (Ficoroni, "Museo Kircheriano"), and possibly of Gregory II (715-741). There is no doubt that these pieces, two of which are of silver, are true coins—and not medals like those distributed as "presbyterium" at the coronation of the popes since the time of Valentine (827). Their stamp resembles the Byzantine and Merovingian coins of the seventh and eighth centuries, and their square shape is also found in Byzantine pieces. Those that bear the inscription GREII PAPE — SCI PTR (Gregorii Papæ — Sancti Petri) cannot be attributed to Pope Gregory IV
(827-44), because of the peculiarity of minting. The existence of these coins, while the popes yet recognized the Byzantine domination, is explained by Hartmann (Das Königreich Italien, Vol. III), who believes that, in the eighth century, the popes received from the emperors the attributes of "Præfectus Urbis". Under the empire, coins that were struck in the provinces bore the name of some local magistrate, and those coins of Gregory and of Zacharias are simply imperial Byzantine pieces, bearing the name of the first civil magistrate of the City of Rome.
There are no coins of pope Stephen III
or of pope Paul I
, who reigned when the Duchy of Rome
was already independent of the Eastern Empire; the first true papal coins are those of Adrian I, from whose time until the reign of pope John XIV
(984) the popes coined money at Rome.
There is no pontifical money of a date between the last-named year and 1305; this is explained, in part, by the fact that the Senate of Rome, which sought to replace the papacy in the temporal government of the city, took over the mint in 1143. On the other hand, Prince Alberic
had already coined money in his own name. The coins of the Senate of Rome usually bear the inscription "ROMA CAPUT MUNDI", or, S. P. Q. R., or both, with or without emblems. In 1188 the mint was restored to pope Clement III
, with the agreement that half of its profits should be assigned to the sindaco, or mayor. The Senate, meanwhile, continued to coin money, and there is no reference on the coins of that time to the papal authority. In the thirteenth century the Sindaco caused his own name to be stamped upon the coins, and, consequently, we have coins of Brancaleone, of Charles I of Anjou, of Francesco Anguillara, viceroy
of Robert of Naples, etc.; so did King Ladislao. Cola di Rienzi, during his brief tribunate, likewise struck coins, with the inscription: N. TRIBUN. AUGUST.: ROMA CAPU. MU.
Papal coins reappeared with the removal of the pontifical Court to Avignon
, although there exists a single coin that is referred to Benedict XI (1303-4), with the legend COITAT. VENASIN; as, however, this pope never resided in Venaissin, which had belonged to the Holy See since 1274, the coin should be referred to Benedict XII. There are coins of all the popes from John XXII to Pius IX.
; but in the fifteenth century the mint was near the bank of Santo Spirito. Finally, in 1665, Alexander VII moved it to the rear of the apse of St. Peter's. Bernini invented for it a machine to do the work more rapidly, and Francesco Girardini furnished a very sensitive balance; so that the mint of Rome was technically the most perfect one of those times. In 1845 Pius IX equipped it with the most modern appliances.
The administration of the mint was at first entrusted to the Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church; direct supervision, however, was exercised by the senate, from the time at least when that body took possession of the mint, until the reign of Pope Martin V
. The sindaco and the conservators of the Camera Capitolina appointed the masters of the mint, while the minting was witnessed by the heads of the guild of goldsmiths and silversmiths. In 1322 John XXII created the office of treasurer for the mint of Avignon, and its incumbent, little by little, made himself independent of the Camerlengo. Later, the office of prelate president of the mint was created. According to Lunadori (Relaz. della Corte di Roma, 1646), the establishments for the coining of money were in charge of a congregation of Cardinals.
The Papal States joined the Latin Monetary Union
in 1866.
, the Italian government took over the operation of the Papal mint in September 1870. The mint was used to make Italian coins, and due to the presence of Italian soldiers guarding the mint, a tunnel was constructed beneath the Apostolic Palace
to ensure private access to the Vatican gardens.
The Italian government announced in 1901 that it was moving its minting operations to a larger facility. Pope Leo XIII
, concerned that an anti-papal organization would take up residence in the building, privately arranged to buy it from the Giolitti government
via Ernesto Pacelli
in 1904.
Vatican City
was established as a separate state in 1929. The Italian mint makes coins for the micro-state which issues its own euros.
the former imperial mint, which was ceded in 996 to Archbishop Gerberto by Gregory V
; there were mints also at Spoleto
and at Benevento
, former residences of Lombard dukes. The Archbishop of Ravenna, who was a feudatory of the emperor rather than of the pope, coined money as long as his temporal power over that city and its territory lasted. The mint of the Emperor Henry VI was established at Bologna
in 1194, and nearly all of the coins struck there bear the motto BONONIA DOCET, or BONONIA MATER STUDIORUM. The baiocchi of Bologna
were called bolognini; the gold bolognino
was equivalent to a gold sequin
. The lira, also a Bolognese coin, was worth 20 bolognini. These coins were struck in the name of the commune; it is only from the time when Bologna was recovered by the Holy See, under Clement VI, that Bolognese coins may be regarded as papal.
(from Leo X to Paul III), Urbino
, Pesaro
and Gubbio
(under Julius II, Leo X and Clement XI), Ferrara
(from Clement VIII), Parma
and Piacenza
(from Julius II to Paul III).
(from Sixtus IV to Pius VI), Aquila
(1486, when that city rebelled against king Ferdinand I of Naples
and gave its allegiance to Innocent VIII; its coins, which are very rare, bear the inscription AQUILANA LIBERTAS), Ascoli
(from Martin V to Pius VI), Avignon
(from Clement V on), Carpentras
(under Clement VIII), Venaissin (near Avignon; from Boniface VIII), Fabriano
(under Leo X), Fano
(from Innocent VIII to Clement VIII), Fermo
(from Boniface IX, 1390, to Leo X), the Marches
(around Ancona; from Boniface IX to Gregory XIII), Macerata
(from Boniface IX to Gregory XIV), Modena
(under Leo X and Clement VII), Montalto
(under Sixtus V), Orvieto
(under Julius II), the "Patrimony" (from Benedict XI to Benedict XII), Perugia
(from Julius II to Julius III), Ravenna (from Leo X to Paul III and under Benedict XIV), Recanati
(under Nicholas V), Reggio
(from Julius II to Adrian VI), Spoleto city (under Paul II), the Duchy of Spoleto
, PROVINCIÆ DUCATUS (under Paul V), Viterbo
(under Urban VI and Sixtus IV).
, being obliged to coin a great deal of copper money, gave the minting of it to a great many cities of the Patrimony of Peter, of Umbria
and of the Marches
, which, together with those already named, continued to strike these coins; among them were Civitavecchia
, Gubbio, Matelica
, Ronciglione
(the coins of 1799 showing the burning of this city are famous), Terni
and Tivoli
. Pius VII suppressed all the mints except those of Rome and of Bologna.
As far back as 1370 there were coins struck during the vacancies of the Holy See, by authority of the Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, who, after the fifteenth century at least, had his name and his coat of arms be stamped on the reverse of the coin, the obverse bearing the words "SEDE VACANTE" and the date, surrounding the crossed keys
surmounted by the pavilion.
as well as that of the pope. After the sixteenth century the coat of arms of the pope alone frequently appears on pontifical coins. There are also found images of the Saviour, or of saints, symbolical figures of men or of animals, the keys (which appear for the first time on the coins of Benevento) etc. From the sixteenth century to the eighteenth, Biblical or moral phrases are added, in allusion to the saint or to the symbol that is stamped upon the coin, e.g. MONSTRA TE ESSE MATREM, SPES NOSTRA, SUB TUUM PRÆSIDIUM, TOTA PULCERA, SUPRA FIRMAM PETRAM, DA RECTA SAPERE (during the Conclave
), UBI THESAURUS IBI COR, CRESCENTEM SEQUITUR CURA PECUNIAM, HILAREM DATOREM DILIGIT DEUS, PRO PRETIO ANIMÆ, FERRO NOCENTIUS AURUM, IN SUDORE VULTUS, CONSERVATÆ PEREUNT, TOLLE ET PROIICE, etc. Sometimes allusion is made to an historical event, as the acquisition of Ferrara
, or the deliverance of Vienna from the Turks(1683), or to some concession of the pope to his subjects, or to a jubilee year
. From the time of Clement X the coins struck at Rome bear a minute representation of the coat of arms of the prelate in charge of the mint, a custom that obtained until 1817. The only instance of a Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church stamping his coat of arms on the coins during the lifetime of the pope is that of Cardinal Armellini, under Adrian VI, in the case of four grossi.
The mints outside of Rome stamped the coins with the arms of their respective cities, or with those of the cardinal legate, of the vice-legate, or of the governor; thus, Cardinal Scipione Borghese in 1612 struck coins at Avignon with his own name and arms, omitting the name of the pope, an example that was followed a year later by the pro-legate Cardinal Filonardi. The city very often placed the image of its patron saint on its coins. The date came to be stamped on coins that were struck during the vacancies of the Holy See, occasionally at first, and later as a rule; it rarely appears on other coins before 1550; the practice became general in the seventeenth century, the year of the Christian era or that of the pontificate being used; and Gregory XVI established it by law, as also the requirement that each coin should bear upon it an expression of its value. At Bologna as early as the seventeenth century, the value of gold or silver coins was usually indicated with the figures 20, 40, 80, etc., i.e. so many bolognini or baiocchi; at Rome, in the eighteenth century, nearly all the copper coins bore an indication of their value. The rim of papal coins rarely bore an inscription; at most, the monogram of the city in which the coin was struck was stamped upon it. From the sixteenth century, the engravers, also, put their cipher
s on the coins; among these engravers may be named Benvenuto Cellini
, Francesco Raibolini, called il Francia (Bologna), the four Hamerani, Giulio Romano (trident), Cavaliere Lucenti, Andrea Perpenti etc. Until the time of Pius VI, the dies for the mint remained the property of the engravers.
, a piece of French origin (écu) that remained the monetary unit of the Pontifical States. At the same time, there appeared the zecchino. The ancient papal florin was equal to 2 scudi and 11 baiocchi (1 baiocco = 0.01 scudi); one ducat was equal to one scudo and 9 baiocchi. The scudo also underwent fluctuations, in the market and in its weight: the so called scudo delle stampe (1595) was worth 184·2 baiocchi, that is, a little less than 2 scudi. Benedict XIII re-established the good quality of the alloy, but under Pius VI it again deteriorated. In 1835 Gregory XVI regulated the monetary system of the Pontifical States, establishing the scudo as the unit, and dividing it into 100 baiocchi, while the baiocco was divided into 5 quattrini (the quattrino, until 1591, had been equal to ¼ of a baiocco). The scudo was coined both in gold and in silver; there were pieces of 10 scudi, called Gregorine; and pieces of 5 scudi, and of 2½ scudi were also coined. The scudo of the eighteenth century was equal to l·65 scudi of Pius VII, which last was adopted by Gregory XVI; the zecchino was worth 2·2 scudi. The scudo is equal to 5·3 lire in the monetary system of the Latin Union. The fractional silver coins were the half scudo, and the giulio, called also paolo, which was equal to 0·1 seudi. Julius II created the latter coin to put the carlini of Charles of Anjou out of circulation, those coins being of bad alloy. There were pieces of 2 giulii that were called papetti, at Rome, and lire at Bologna, a name that was later given to them officially. A grosso, introduced in 1736, was equal to half a giulio (25 baiocchi); there were also the mezzogrosso, and the testone = 30 giulii. The copper coins were the baiocco or soldo (which was called bolognino, at Bologna) and the 2 baiocchi piece. The name baiocco is derived from that of the city of Bayeux.
(Bologna) = 5 baiocchi; the sampietrino (Pius VI) = 2½ baiocchi; the paludella was a soldo
, made of an alloy
of copper and silver, established by Pius VI as a more easily portable specie with which to pay the workmen of the Pontine Marshes
; the sesino = 0·4 of a baiocco = 2 quattrini; the leonina (Leo XII) = 4·4 Gregorian scudi; the doblone = 2 old scudi = 3·3 scudi of the nineteenth century; there were dobloni of the relative values of 4, 8, and 16 scudi; the doppio
was worth a little less than the doblone, that is, 3·21 scudi of the nineteenth Century; at Bologna there were also coined scudi of 80 baiocchi, and half-scudi of 40 baiocchi; the gabella was a Bolognese coin, equivalent to a carlino
or giulio
; the gabellone was equivalent to 26 bolognini (baiocchi); the franc
o, in the fifteenth century, was worth 12 baiocchi at Bologna, but only 10 baiocchi at Rome; the alberetti was a two-baiocco piece that was coined by the Roman Republic
(1798–99).
in 1913, from which most of the preceding article is taken.
Not only has the Temporal power of the Papacy, lost since 1870, been restored in the form of the Vatican City
State, but also much new research has been done on the subject of Papal coins, and with it many new discoveries. Moreover, the whole legal and operatiional basis for the issue of papal coinage has been twice substantially modified, once by the Lateran Pacts and once with the introduction of the euro.
While the Catholic Encyclopedia article states, "There can be no papal coins of earlier date than that of the temporal power of the popes", in fact coinage may well have predated the emancipation of the Papal territories from Byzantine
authority. The pope, going back at least as far as St. Gregory the Great (590-604), acted on numerous occasions as the paymaster for the Emperor's troops. So it is not too surprising that at some point the Pope might have had to issue the Emperor's coins himself. A number of silver issues from the Rome mint came to light in the early 1980s and these have been demonstrated as showing the monogram
of the reigning Pontiff, even though they also have the devices of the Byzantine emperors of the seventh and early eighth centuries. This fact pushes the known date of the start of Papal coinage back at least as far as the reign of Pope Vitalian
(657-672). Similar issues are known for Pope Adeodatus II
, Sisinnius
, Gregory II, Gregory III
, and Zacharias
.
All legitimate pontiffs in the 250-year period from Gregory III to Benedict VII issued coins, with the exceptions of Stephen II
(who reigned for only two or three days), Boniface VI, Leo V
, Lando
, Leo VI, and Stephen IX
. Coins are known also for the Antipope Christopher
, but these are probably forgeries. After the death of Benedict VII in 983, no further issues were undertaken. However, some authors list several later tenth, eleventh, and twelfth century popes as also having issued coins, but these attributions are due mostly to faulty research. The so-called issues of Pope Paschal II
are later counterfeits. From the last two decades of the twelfth and all the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, the Roman Senate issued coins under its own name, without reference to the Pope.
Papal coinage resumed with the issues of Boniface VIII in 1300, from the mint of Sorges in France, but thirty years earlier, during the so-called Long Conclave of 1268-1271, an issue of silver coins was also struck. These coins are the first of the Sede Vacante
(vacant chair) pieces, which are issued during the interregnum
between popes. There were no further Sede Vacante issues until 1378, but the practice became more regular after the death of Leo X in 1521.
All popes from Boniface VIII to Pius IX issued coins, with the notable exception of Leo XI
, who was pope for four weeks in April 1605. However, a pope with an even shorter reign, Urban VII, did issue coins. Pius III and Innocent IX also issued coins, but in gold only. Additionally, four of the antipope
s from the Great Schism
(1378–1417), Clement VII, Benedict XIII
, Alexander V, and Pope John XXIII
also issued their own coinage.
obtained possession of the collection of Belli, begun in the previous century by Luigi Tommasini, and this collection became the basis of the Numismatic Cabinet, which is under the direction of the prefect of the Vatican Library and has a special custodian.
Since the loss of the Temporal power, the pope has not coined money; each year, however, he strikes the customary medal for the feast of Saint Peter
, which is given to cardinals and to the employees of the Roman Curia
.
In 1866, following the lead of the newly-united Italy (which had occupied 2/3 of the Papal States in 1860), the old baiocco/scudo
system was scrapped in favor of the new lira
, divided into 100 centesimi
. This brought Papal coinage size, weight and composition into alignment with the rest of the Latin Monetary Union
countries like France, Switzerland, and Spain, in addition to Italy.
After the confiscation of the remainder of the Papal States
and Rome by Italy in 1870, there were of course no further issues until the establishment of the Vatican City State in 1929. However, there are pattern 5-Lire pieces of Leo XIII, coined in 1878 apparently by French friends of the Papacy. No such honor was bestowed on either St. Pius X or Benedict XV, however.
From 1931, the coins of Vatican City have been struck at the Italian State Mint in Rome (there are also coins dated 1929 and 1930, which were struck in 1931 and backdated accordingly), and are legal tender in both Italy and San Marino
, in addition to the Holy See. Initially, coins were produced in the denominations of 5 and 10 Centesimi (in bronze), 20 and 50 Centesimi, and 1 and 2 Lire in nickel, 5 and 10 Lire in silver, and 100 Lire in gold. All popes since Pius XI have had coin issues, including the brief reign of John Paul I, which is represented by a 1000-Lire silver piece struck posthumously.
As the value of the Italian Lira declined in the years since World War II
, new denominations in progressively higher values were been introduced, with the lower values dropping off. All the centesimi denominations ceased to be issued after 1946, the gold 100-Lire after 1959, and the by-now tiny aluminum 1- and 2-Lire issues ended after 1977, with the 5-Lire disappearing a year later.
Before the Lira was replaced by the euro in 2002, issues for John Paul II included a 10-Lire piece in aluminum, a 20-Lire piece in an aluminum-bronze alloy, 50-Lire and 100-Lire pieces in copper-nickel
, a 200-Lire coin in aluminum-bronze, and ringed, bimetallic 500- and 1000-Lire pieces for circulation and in the annual sets. Additionally, commemorative 500- and 1000-Lire pieces were struck in silver, as were 10,000-Lire pieces struck since 1995 for the upcoming Holy Year. Series of two gold coin issues, in the values of 50,000 Lire (.917 Gold, 0.2211 AGW/6.87gms, 7.5gms total weight) and 100,000 Lire (.917 Gold, 0.4422 AGW/13.74gms, 15gms total weight), were also struck in connection with Holy Year 2000. These were minted from 1996 to 2000.
Agreements with the European Union allowed the Holy See to switch to euro
coinage when Italy did in 2002, even though Vatican City is not a member state of the European Union. Current issues include 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 cent and 1 and 2 euro denominations, in addition to commemorative coins of 5 and 10 euro in silver, as well as 20 and 50 euro in gold.
All these issues, the regular coinage, and the silver and gold commemoratives, can be obtained through mail order directly from the Vatican at the following address:
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
institute for the production of hard cash
Hard money (policy)
Hard money policies are those which are opposed to fiat currency and thus in support of a specie standard, usually gold or silver, typically implemented with representative money....
. Papal Mint also refers to the buildings in Avignon
Avignon
Avignon is a French commune in southeastern France in the départment of the Vaucluse bordered by the left bank of the Rhône river. Of the 94,787 inhabitants of the city on 1 January 2010, 12 000 live in the ancient town centre surrounded by its medieval ramparts.Often referred to as the...
, Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, and elsewhere that used to house the mint. (The Italian word for mint is Zecca
Zecca
Zecca, Italian for "mint" , may refer to:* The historical Papal mint located in Vatican City.* The mint of the Italian Republic, Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato, which is still active....
).
History of Papal coin
The right to coin moneyMoney
Money is any object or record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts in a given country or socio-economic context. The main functions of money are distinguished as: a medium of exchange; a unit of account; a store of value; and, occasionally in the past,...
being one of the regalia
Regalia
Regalia is Latin plurale tantum for the privileges and the insignia characteristic of a Sovereign.The word stems from the Latin substantivation of the adjective regalis, 'regal', itself from Rex, 'king'...
(sovereign prerogatives), there can be no papal coin
Coin
A coin is a piece of hard material that is standardized in weight, is produced in large quantities in order to facilitate trade, and primarily can be used as a legal tender token for commerce in the designated country, region, or territory....
s of earlier date than that of the temporal power of the popes. Nevertheless, there are coins of Pope Zacharias (741-52), of Gregory III (Ficoroni, "Museo Kircheriano"), and possibly of Gregory II (715-741). There is no doubt that these pieces, two of which are of silver, are true coins—and not medals like those distributed as "presbyterium" at the coronation of the popes since the time of Valentine (827). Their stamp resembles the Byzantine and Merovingian coins of the seventh and eighth centuries, and their square shape is also found in Byzantine pieces. Those that bear the inscription GREII PAPE — SCI PTR (Gregorii Papæ — Sancti Petri) cannot be attributed to Pope Gregory IV
Pope Gregory IV
Pope Gregory IV was chosen to succeed Valentine in December 827, on which occasion he recognized the supremacy of the Frankish emperor Louis the Pious in the most unequivocal manner....
(827-44), because of the peculiarity of minting. The existence of these coins, while the popes yet recognized the Byzantine domination, is explained by Hartmann (Das Königreich Italien, Vol. III), who believes that, in the eighth century, the popes received from the emperors the attributes of "Præfectus Urbis". Under the empire, coins that were struck in the provinces bore the name of some local magistrate, and those coins of Gregory and of Zacharias are simply imperial Byzantine pieces, bearing the name of the first civil magistrate of the City of Rome.
There are no coins of pope Stephen III
Pope Stephen III
Pope Stephen III was pope from August 1 or August 7, 768 to January 24, 772. He was a native of Sicily.He came to Rome during the pontificate of Gregory III and gradually rose to high office in the service of successive popes....
or of pope Paul I
Pope Paul I
Pope Paul I was pope from May 29, 757 to June 28, 767. He first served as a Roman deacon and was frequently employed by his brother, Pope Stephen II, in negotiations with the Lombard kings....
, who reigned when the Duchy of Rome
Duchy of Rome
The Duchy of Rome was a Byzantine district in the Exarchate of Ravenna. Like other Byzantine states in Italy, it was ruled by an imperial functionary with the title dux...
was already independent of the Eastern Empire; the first true papal coins are those of Adrian I, from whose time until the reign of pope John XIV
Pope John XIV
Pope John XIV was Pope from December, 983 to August 20, 984, successor to Pope Benedict VII He was born at Pavia, and before his elevation to the papal chair was imperial chancellor of Emperor Otto II , and was the latter's second choice.His original name was Pietro Canepanova, but he took the...
(984) the popes coined money at Rome.
There is no pontifical money of a date between the last-named year and 1305; this is explained, in part, by the fact that the Senate of Rome, which sought to replace the papacy in the temporal government of the city, took over the mint in 1143. On the other hand, Prince Alberic
Alberic II of Spoleto
Alberic II was ruler of Rome from 932 to 954, after deposing his mother Marozia and his stepfather, King Hugh of Italy.He was of the house of the Counts of Tusculum, the son of the notorious Marozia by her first husband, Alberic I, Duke of Spoleto. His half-brother was Pope John XI...
had already coined money in his own name. The coins of the Senate of Rome usually bear the inscription "ROMA CAPUT MUNDI", or, S. P. Q. R., or both, with or without emblems. In 1188 the mint was restored to pope Clement III
Pope Clement III
Pope Clement III , born Paulino Scolari, was elected Pope on December 19, 1187 and reigned until his death.-Cardinal:...
, with the agreement that half of its profits should be assigned to the sindaco, or mayor. The Senate, meanwhile, continued to coin money, and there is no reference on the coins of that time to the papal authority. In the thirteenth century the Sindaco caused his own name to be stamped upon the coins, and, consequently, we have coins of Brancaleone, of Charles I of Anjou, of Francesco Anguillara, viceroy
Viceroy
A viceroy is a royal official who runs a country, colony, or province in the name of and as representative of the monarch. The term derives from the Latin prefix vice-, meaning "in the place of" and the French word roi, meaning king. A viceroy's province or larger territory is called a viceroyalty...
of Robert of Naples, etc.; so did King Ladislao. Cola di Rienzi, during his brief tribunate, likewise struck coins, with the inscription: N. TRIBUN. AUGUST.: ROMA CAPU. MU.
Papal coins reappeared with the removal of the pontifical Court to Avignon
Avignon
Avignon is a French commune in southeastern France in the départment of the Vaucluse bordered by the left bank of the Rhône river. Of the 94,787 inhabitants of the city on 1 January 2010, 12 000 live in the ancient town centre surrounded by its medieval ramparts.Often referred to as the...
, although there exists a single coin that is referred to Benedict XI (1303-4), with the legend COITAT. VENASIN; as, however, this pope never resided in Venaissin, which had belonged to the Holy See since 1274, the coin should be referred to Benedict XII. There are coins of all the popes from John XXII to Pius IX.
History of the Papal mint
The popes, and also the Senate when it coined money, appear to have used the imperial mint of Rome, which was on the slope of the Campidoglio, not far from the Arch of Septimius SeverusArch of Septimius Severus
The white marble Arch of Septimius Severus at the northwest end of the Roman Forum is a triumphal arch dedicated in AD 203 to commemorate the Parthian victories of Emperor Septimius Severus and his two sons, Caracalla and Geta, in the two campaigns against the Parthians of 194/195 and...
; but in the fifteenth century the mint was near the bank of Santo Spirito. Finally, in 1665, Alexander VII moved it to the rear of the apse of St. Peter's. Bernini invented for it a machine to do the work more rapidly, and Francesco Girardini furnished a very sensitive balance; so that the mint of Rome was technically the most perfect one of those times. In 1845 Pius IX equipped it with the most modern appliances.
The administration of the mint was at first entrusted to the Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church; direct supervision, however, was exercised by the senate, from the time at least when that body took possession of the mint, until the reign of Pope Martin V
Pope Martin V
Pope Martin V , born Odo Colonna, was Pope from 1417 to 1431. His election effectively ended the Western Schism .-Biography:...
. The sindaco and the conservators of the Camera Capitolina appointed the masters of the mint, while the minting was witnessed by the heads of the guild of goldsmiths and silversmiths. In 1322 John XXII created the office of treasurer for the mint of Avignon, and its incumbent, little by little, made himself independent of the Camerlengo. Later, the office of prelate president of the mint was created. According to Lunadori (Relaz. della Corte di Roma, 1646), the establishments for the coining of money were in charge of a congregation of Cardinals.
The Papal States joined the Latin Monetary Union
Latin Monetary Union
The Latin Monetary Union was a 19th century attempt to unify several European currencies, at a time when most circulating coins were still made of gold and silver...
in 1866.
Since Italian unification
With the unification of Italy and the altered status of RomeRoman Question
thumb|300px|The breach of [[Porta Pia]], on the right, in a contemporaneous photograph.The Roman Question was a political dispute between the Italian Government and the Papacy from 1861 to 1929....
, the Italian government took over the operation of the Papal mint in September 1870. The mint was used to make Italian coins, and due to the presence of Italian soldiers guarding the mint, a tunnel was constructed beneath the Apostolic Palace
Apostolic Palace
The Apostolic Palace is the official residence of the Pope, which is located in Vatican City. It is also known as the Sacred Palace, the Papal Palace and the Palace of the Vatican...
to ensure private access to the Vatican gardens.
The Italian government announced in 1901 that it was moving its minting operations to a larger facility. Pope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII , born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci to an Italian comital family, was the 256th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, reigning from 1878 to 1903...
, concerned that an anti-papal organization would take up residence in the building, privately arranged to buy it from the Giolitti government
Giovanni Giolitti
Giovanni Giolitti was an Italian statesman. He was the 19th, 25th, 29th, 32nd and 37th Prime Minister of Italy between 1892 and 1921. A left-wing liberal, Giolitti's periods in office were notable for the passage of a wide range of progressive social reforms which improved the living standards of...
via Ernesto Pacelli
Ernesto Pacelli
Ernesto Pacelli was a financial adviser to Pope Leo XIII, Pope Pius X, and Pope Benedict XV and the founder and president of the Banco di Roma from March 9, 1880 until 1916. Pacelli also served as an unofficial link between the Vatican and the Italian government...
in 1904.
Vatican City
Vatican City
Vatican City , or Vatican City State, in Italian officially Stato della Città del Vaticano , which translates literally as State of the City of the Vatican, is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of...
was established as a separate state in 1929. The Italian mint makes coins for the micro-state which issues its own euros.
The various Papal mints
Rome was not the only city of the Pontifical States that had a mint: prior to the year 1000, there existed at RavennaRavenna
Ravenna is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy and the second largest comune in Italy by land area, although, at , it is little more than half the size of the largest comune, Rome...
the former imperial mint, which was ceded in 996 to Archbishop Gerberto by Gregory V
Pope Gregory V
Pope Gregory V, né Bruno of Carinthia , Pope from May 3, 996 to February 18, 999, son of the Salian Otto I, Duke of Carinthia, who was a grandson of the Emperor Otto I the Great . Gregory V succeeded Pope John XV , when only twenty-four years of age...
; there were mints also at Spoleto
Spoleto
Spoleto 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:...
and at Benevento
Benevento
Benevento is a town and comune of Campania, Italy, capital of the province of Benevento, 50 km northeast of Naples. It is situated on a hill 130 m above sea-level at the confluence of the Calore Irpino and Sabato...
, former residences of Lombard dukes. The Archbishop of Ravenna, who was a feudatory of the emperor rather than of the pope, coined money as long as his temporal power over that city and its territory lasted. The mint of the Emperor Henry VI was established at Bologna
Bologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
in 1194, and nearly all of the coins struck there bear the motto BONONIA DOCET, or BONONIA MATER STUDIORUM. The baiocchi of Bologna
Bologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
were called bolognini; the gold bolognino
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...
was equivalent to a gold sequin
Sequin
Sequins are disk-shaped beads used for decorative purposes. They are available in a wide variety of colors and geometrical shapes. Sequins are commonly used on clothing, jewelry, bags, shoes and lots of other accessories. Large sequins, fastened only at the top, have been used on billboards and...
. The lira, also a Bolognese coin, was worth 20 bolognini. These coins were struck in the name of the commune; it is only from the time when Bologna was recovered by the Holy See, under Clement VI, that Bolognese coins may be regarded as papal.
Papal mints granted by status or privilege
Other cities had mints because they were the capitals of principalities subject to the Holy See, or in virtue of a privilege granted them by some prince; and when these feudal states fell to the Holy See, they retained the mints as papal establishments. This was so in the case of CamerinoCamerino
Camerino is a small town of 7.135 inhabitants in the Marches , in the province of Macerata, Italy. It is located in the Apennines bordering Umbria, between the valleys of the rivers Potenza and Chienti, about 40 miles from Ancona....
(from Leo X to Paul III), Urbino
Urbino
Urbino is a walled city in the Marche region of Italy, south-west of Pesaro, a World Heritage Site notable for a remarkable historical legacy of independent Renaissance culture, especially under the patronage of Federico da Montefeltro, duke of Urbino from 1444 to 1482...
, Pesaro
Pesaro
Pesaro is a town and comune in the Italian region of the Marche, capital of the Pesaro e Urbino province, on the Adriatic. According to the 2007 census, its population was 92,206....
and Gubbio
Gubbio
Gubbio is a town and comune in the far northeastern part of the Italian province of Perugia . It is located on the lowest slope of Mt. Ingino, a small mountain of the Apennines. See also Mount Ingino Christmas Tree.-History:...
(under Julius II, Leo X and Clement XI), Ferrara
Ferrara
Ferrara is a city and comune in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital city of the Province of Ferrara. It is situated 50 km north-northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream of the Po River, located 5 km north...
(from Clement VIII), Parma
Parma
Parma is a city in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna famous for its ham, its cheese, its architecture and the fine countryside around it. This is the home of the University of Parma, one of the oldest universities in the world....
and Piacenza
Piacenza
Piacenza is a city and comune in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It is the capital of the province of Piacenza...
(from Julius II to Paul III).
Papal mints of limited time periods
There were other cities or regions to which the popes granted a mint for limited periods of time, as AnconaAncona
Ancona is a city and a seaport in the Marche region, in central Italy, with a population of 101,909 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region....
(from Sixtus IV to Pius VI), Aquila
L'Aquila
L'Aquila is a city and comune in central Italy, both the capital city of the Abruzzo region and of the Province of L'Aquila. , it has a population of 73,150 inhabitants, but has a daily presence in the territory of 100,000 people for study, tertiary activities, jobs and tourism...
(1486, when that city rebelled against king Ferdinand I of Naples
Ferdinand I of Naples
Ferdinand I , also called Don Ferrante, was the King of Naples from 1458 to 1494. He was the natural son of Alfonso V of Aragon by Giraldona Carlino.-Biography:...
and gave its allegiance to Innocent VIII; its coins, which are very rare, bear the inscription AQUILANA LIBERTAS), Ascoli
Ascoli Piceno
Ascoli Piceno is a town and comune in the Marche region of Italy, capital of the province of the same name. Its population is c. 51,400.-Geography:...
(from Martin V to Pius VI), Avignon
Avignon
Avignon is a French commune in southeastern France in the départment of the Vaucluse bordered by the left bank of the Rhône river. Of the 94,787 inhabitants of the city on 1 January 2010, 12 000 live in the ancient town centre surrounded by its medieval ramparts.Often referred to as the...
(from Clement V on), Carpentras
Carpentras
Carpentras is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.It stands on the banks of the Auzon...
(under Clement VIII), Venaissin (near Avignon; from Boniface VIII), Fabriano
Fabriano
Fabriano is a town and comune of Ancona province in the Italian region of the Marche, at 325 m above sea-level. It lies in the Esino valley 44 km upstream and SW of Jesi; and 15 km ENE of Fossato di Vico and 36 km east of Gubbio...
(under Leo X), Fano
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 12 km southeast of Pesaro, located where the Via Flaminia reaches the Adriatic Sea...
(from Innocent VIII to Clement VIII), Fermo
Fermo
Fermo is a town and comune of the Marche, Italy, in the Province of Fermo.Fermo is located on a hill, the Sabulo with a fine view, on a branch from Porto San Giorgio on the Adriatic coast railway....
(from Boniface IX, 1390, to Leo X), the Marches
Marches
A march or mark refers to a border region similar to a frontier, such as the Welsh Marches, the borderland between England and Wales. During the Frankish Carolingian Dynasty, the word spread throughout Europe....
(around Ancona; from Boniface IX to Gregory XIII), Macerata
Macerata
Macerata is a city and comune in central Italy, the capital of the province of Macerata in the Marche region.The historical city center is located on a hill between the Chienti and Potenza rivers. It consisted of the Picenes city named Ricina, then, after the romanization, Recina and Helvia Recina...
(from Boniface IX to Gregory XIV), Modena
Modena
Modena is a city and comune on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy....
(under Leo X and Clement VII), Montalto
Montalto delle Marche
Montalto delle Marche is a comune in the Province of Ascoli Piceno in the Italian region Marche, located about 70 km south of Ancona and about 15 km north of Ascoli Piceno...
(under Sixtus V), Orvieto
Orvieto
Orvieto is a city and comune in Province of Terni, southwestern Umbria, Italy situated on the flat summit of a large butte of volcanic tuff...
(under Julius II), the "Patrimony" (from Benedict XI to Benedict XII), Perugia
Perugia
Perugia is the capital city of the region of Umbria in central Italy, near the River Tiber, and the capital of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome. It covers a high hilltop and part of the valleys around the area....
(from Julius II to Julius III), Ravenna (from Leo X to Paul III and under Benedict XIV), Recanati
Recanati
Recanati is a town and comune in the Province of Macerata, Marche region of Italy. Recanati was founded around 1150 AD from three pre-existing castles. In 1290 it proclaimed itself an independent republic and, in the 15th century, was famous for its international fair...
(under Nicholas V), Reggio
Reggio Emilia
Reggio Emilia is an affluent city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has about 170,000 inhabitants and is the main comune of the Province of Reggio Emilia....
(from Julius II to Adrian VI), Spoleto city (under Paul II), the Duchy of Spoleto
Duchy of Spoleto
The independent Duchy of Spoleto was a Lombard territory founded about 570 in central Italy by the Lombard dux Faroald.- Lombards :The Lombards, a Germanic people, had invaded Italy in 568 and conquered much of it, establishing a Kingdom divided between several dukes dependent on the King, who had...
, PROVINCIÆ DUCATUS (under Paul V), Viterbo
Viterbo
See also Viterbo, Texas and Viterbo UniversityViterbo is an ancient city and comune in the Lazio region of central Italy, the capital of the province of Viterbo. It is approximately 80 driving / 80 walking kilometers north of GRA on the Via Cassia, and it is surrounded by the Monti Cimini and...
(under Urban VI and Sixtus IV).
The Papal coins
Pope Pius VIPope Pius VI
Pope Pius VI , born Count Giovanni Angelo Braschi, was Pope from 1775 to 1799.-Early years:Braschi was born in Cesena...
, being obliged to coin a great deal of copper money, gave the minting of it to a great many cities of the Patrimony of Peter, of Umbria
Umbria
Umbria is a region of modern central Italy. It is one of the smallest Italian regions and the only peninsular region that is landlocked.Its capital is Perugia.Assisi and Norcia are historical towns associated with St. Francis of Assisi, and St...
and of the Marches
Marches
A march or mark refers to a border region similar to a frontier, such as the Welsh Marches, the borderland between England and Wales. During the Frankish Carolingian Dynasty, the word spread throughout Europe....
, which, together with those already named, continued to strike these coins; among them were Civitavecchia
Civitavecchia
Civitavecchia is a town and comune of the province of Rome in the central Italian region of Lazio. A sea port on the Tyrrhenian Sea, it is located 80 kilometers west-north-west of Rome, across the Mignone river. The harbor is formed by two piers and a breakwater, on which is a lighthouse...
, Gubbio, Matelica
Matelica
Matelica is a comune of the Province of Macerata in the Italian region of Marche. Located about 60 km southwest of Ancona and 35 km west of Macerata, it extends over an area of 81.0 km² and has a population of 10,316 .The municipality of Matelica comprises the hamlets of Balzani,...
, Ronciglione
Ronciglione
Ronciglione is a city and comune in the province of Viterbo, Lazio , c. 20 km 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 the Vico's Lake....
(the coins of 1799 showing the burning of this city are famous), Terni
Terni
Terni is a city in southern Umbria, central Italy, capital of the province of Terni, located in the plain of the Nera river. It is 104 km N of Rome, 36 km NW of Rieti, and 29 km S of Spoleto.-History:...
and Tivoli
Tivoli, Italy
Tivoli , the classical Tibur, is an ancient Italian town in Lazio, about 30 km east-north-east of Rome, at the falls of the Aniene river where it issues from the Sabine hills...
. Pius VII suppressed all the mints except those of Rome and of Bologna.
As far back as 1370 there were coins struck during the vacancies of the Holy See, by authority of the Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, who, after the fifteenth century at least, had his name and his coat of arms be stamped on the reverse of the coin, the obverse bearing the words "SEDE VACANTE" and the date, surrounding the crossed keys
Papal regalia and insignia
Papal regalia and insignia are the official items of attire and decoration proper to the Pope in his capacity as the head of the Roman Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State.- Regalia :...
surmounted by the pavilion.
Marks on the Papal coins
All papal coins, with rare exceptions, bear the name of the pope, preceded (until the time of Paul II) by a Greek cross, and nearly all of the more ancient ones bear, either on the obverse or on the reverse, the words S. PETRUS, and some of them, the words S. PAULUS also. From Leo III to the Ottonian dynasty, the coins bear the name of the Holy Roman EmperorHoly Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...
as well as that of the pope. After the sixteenth century the coat of arms of the pope alone frequently appears on pontifical coins. There are also found images of the Saviour, or of saints, symbolical figures of men or of animals, the keys (which appear for the first time on the coins of Benevento) etc. From the sixteenth century to the eighteenth, Biblical or moral phrases are added, in allusion to the saint or to the symbol that is stamped upon the coin, e.g. MONSTRA TE ESSE MATREM, SPES NOSTRA, SUB TUUM PRÆSIDIUM, TOTA PULCERA, SUPRA FIRMAM PETRAM, DA RECTA SAPERE (during the Conclave
Papal conclave
A papal conclave is a meeting of the College of Cardinals convened to elect a Bishop of Rome, who then becomes the Pope during a period of vacancy in the papal office. The Pope is considered by Roman Catholics to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and earthly head of the Roman Catholic Church...
), UBI THESAURUS IBI COR, CRESCENTEM SEQUITUR CURA PECUNIAM, HILAREM DATOREM DILIGIT DEUS, PRO PRETIO ANIMÆ, FERRO NOCENTIUS AURUM, IN SUDORE VULTUS, CONSERVATÆ PEREUNT, TOLLE ET PROIICE, etc. Sometimes allusion is made to an historical event, as the acquisition of Ferrara
Ferrara
Ferrara is a city and comune in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital city of the Province of Ferrara. It is situated 50 km north-northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream of the Po River, located 5 km north...
, or the deliverance of Vienna from the Turks(1683), or to some concession of the pope to his subjects, or to a jubilee year
Jubilee (Christian)
The concept of the Jubilee is a special year of remission of sins and universal pardon. In the Biblical Book of Leviticus, a Jubilee year is mentioned to occur every fifty years, in which slaves and prisoners would be freed, debts would be forgiven and the mercies of God would be particularly...
. From the time of Clement X the coins struck at Rome bear a minute representation of the coat of arms of the prelate in charge of the mint, a custom that obtained until 1817. The only instance of a Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church stamping his coat of arms on the coins during the lifetime of the pope is that of Cardinal Armellini, under Adrian VI, in the case of four grossi.
The mints outside of Rome stamped the coins with the arms of their respective cities, or with those of the cardinal legate, of the vice-legate, or of the governor; thus, Cardinal Scipione Borghese in 1612 struck coins at Avignon with his own name and arms, omitting the name of the pope, an example that was followed a year later by the pro-legate Cardinal Filonardi. The city very often placed the image of its patron saint on its coins. The date came to be stamped on coins that were struck during the vacancies of the Holy See, occasionally at first, and later as a rule; it rarely appears on other coins before 1550; the practice became general in the seventeenth century, the year of the Christian era or that of the pontificate being used; and Gregory XVI established it by law, as also the requirement that each coin should bear upon it an expression of its value. At Bologna as early as the seventeenth century, the value of gold or silver coins was usually indicated with the figures 20, 40, 80, etc., i.e. so many bolognini or baiocchi; at Rome, in the eighteenth century, nearly all the copper coins bore an indication of their value. The rim of papal coins rarely bore an inscription; at most, the monogram of the city in which the coin was struck was stamped upon it. From the sixteenth century, the engravers, also, put their cipher
Cipher
In cryptography, a cipher is an algorithm for performing encryption or decryption — a series of well-defined steps that can be followed as a procedure. An alternative, less common term is encipherment. In non-technical usage, a “cipher” is the same thing as a “code”; however, the concepts...
s on the coins; among these engravers may be named Benvenuto Cellini
Benvenuto Cellini
Benvenuto Cellini was an Italian goldsmith, sculptor, painter, soldier and musician, who also wrote a famous autobiography. He was one of the most important artists of Mannerism.-Youth:...
, Francesco Raibolini, called il Francia (Bologna), the four Hamerani, Giulio Romano (trident), Cavaliere Lucenti, Andrea Perpenti etc. Until the time of Pius VI, the dies for the mint remained the property of the engravers.
Monetary system of Papal coinage
The Byzantine monetary system is followed in the papal coinage until the reign of Leo III, after which the system of the Frankish Empire obtains. John XXII adopted the Florentine system, and coined gold forms, but the weight of this coin varied from 22 to 30 carats (4.4 to 6 g), until Gregory XI reduced it to the original 24 carats (4.8 g); but deterioration came again, and then there were two kinds of florins, the papal florin, which maintained the old weight, and the florin di Camera, the two being in the ratio of 69 papal florins = 100 florins di Camera = 1 gold pound = 10 carlini. The ducat was coined in the papal mint from the year 1432; it was a coin of Venetian origin that circulated with the florin, which in 1531 was succeeded by the scudoPapal States scudo
The Roman scudo was the currency of the Papal States until 1866. It was subdivided into 100 baiocchi , each of 5 quattrini...
, a piece of French origin (écu) that remained the monetary unit of the Pontifical States. At the same time, there appeared the zecchino. The ancient papal florin was equal to 2 scudi and 11 baiocchi (1 baiocco = 0.01 scudi); one ducat was equal to one scudo and 9 baiocchi. The scudo also underwent fluctuations, in the market and in its weight: the so called scudo delle stampe (1595) was worth 184·2 baiocchi, that is, a little less than 2 scudi. Benedict XIII re-established the good quality of the alloy, but under Pius VI it again deteriorated. In 1835 Gregory XVI regulated the monetary system of the Pontifical States, establishing the scudo as the unit, and dividing it into 100 baiocchi, while the baiocco was divided into 5 quattrini (the quattrino, until 1591, had been equal to ¼ of a baiocco). The scudo was coined both in gold and in silver; there were pieces of 10 scudi, called Gregorine; and pieces of 5 scudi, and of 2½ scudi were also coined. The scudo of the eighteenth century was equal to l·65 scudi of Pius VII, which last was adopted by Gregory XVI; the zecchino was worth 2·2 scudi. The scudo is equal to 5·3 lire in the monetary system of the Latin Union. The fractional silver coins were the half scudo, and the giulio, called also paolo, which was equal to 0·1 seudi. Julius II created the latter coin to put the carlini of Charles of Anjou out of circulation, those coins being of bad alloy. There were pieces of 2 giulii that were called papetti, at Rome, and lire at Bologna, a name that was later given to them officially. A grosso, introduced in 1736, was equal to half a giulio (25 baiocchi); there were also the mezzogrosso, and the testone = 30 giulii. The copper coins were the baiocco or soldo (which was called bolognino, at Bologna) and the 2 baiocchi piece. The name baiocco is derived from that of the city of Bayeux.
Other coins used in the Pontifical States
Other coins that were used at various times in the Pontifical States were the baiocchella = 1 baiocco, a copper piece with a silver surface, and therefore smaller than the copper baiocco; there were coins made of the two metals of the values, respectively of 2, 4, 6, 8, 12 and 16 baiocchi; the copper madonninaMadonnina
The Madonnina, commonly known as the Madonna of the Streets, was a painting created by Roberto Ferruzzi and first publicly exhibited in 1897 at an art exhibition in Venice. The models for this painting were Angelina Cian and her younger brother...
(Bologna) = 5 baiocchi; the sampietrino (Pius VI) = 2½ baiocchi; the paludella was a soldo
Solidus (coin)
The solidus was originally a gold coin issued by the Romans, and a weight measure for gold more generally, corresponding to 4.5 grams.-Roman and Byzantine coinage:...
, made of an alloy
Alloy
An alloy is a mixture or metallic solid solution composed of two or more elements. Complete solid solution alloys give single solid phase microstructure, while partial solutions give two or more phases that may or may not be homogeneous in distribution, depending on thermal history...
of copper and silver, established by Pius VI as a more easily portable specie with which to pay the workmen of the Pontine Marshes
Pontine Marshes
thumb|250px|Lake Fogliano, a coastal lagoon in the Pontine Plain.The Pontine Marshes, termed in Latin Pomptinus Ager by Titus Livius, Pomptina Palus and Pomptinae Paludes by Pliny the Elder, today the Agro Pontino in Italian, is an approximately quadrangular area of former marshland in the Lazio...
; the sesino = 0·4 of a baiocco = 2 quattrini; the leonina (Leo XII) = 4·4 Gregorian scudi; the doblone = 2 old scudi = 3·3 scudi of the nineteenth century; there were dobloni of the relative values of 4, 8, and 16 scudi; the doppio
Doppio
Doppio in espresso is a double shot, extracted using a double filter basket in the portafilter. This results in 60ml of drink, double the amount of a single shot espresso. More commonly called a standard double, it is a standard in judging the espresso quality in barista competitions...
was worth a little less than the doblone, that is, 3·21 scudi of the nineteenth Century; at Bologna there were also coined scudi of 80 baiocchi, and half-scudi of 40 baiocchi; the gabella was a Bolognese coin, equivalent to a carlino
Carlino
Carlino is a comune in the Province of Udine in the Italian region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located about 50 km northwest of Trieste and about 30 km south of Udine...
or giulio
Giulio
Giulio may refer to:* Giulio Alberoni, Italian cardinal and statesman* Giulio Andreotti, Italian politician* Giulio Caccini , Florentine composer, significant innovator of the early Baroque era* Giulio Fioravanti, an Italian operatic baritone...
; the gabellone was equivalent to 26 bolognini (baiocchi); the franc
Franc
The franc is the name of several currency units, most notably the Swiss franc, still a major world currency today due to the prominence of Swiss financial institutions and the former currency of France, the French franc until the Euro was adopted in 1999...
o, in the fifteenth century, was worth 12 baiocchi at Bologna, but only 10 baiocchi at Rome; the alberetti was a two-baiocco piece that was coined by the Roman Republic
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
(1798–99).
Recent reassessment
Much has changed on the subject of the Papal Mint and Papal coinage since the original publication of the Catholic EncyclopediaCatholic Encyclopedia
The Catholic Encyclopedia, also referred to as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia and the Original Catholic Encyclopedia, is an English-language encyclopedia published in the United States. The first volume appeared in March 1907 and the last three volumes appeared in 1912, followed by a master index...
in 1913, from which most of the preceding article is taken.
Not only has the Temporal power of the Papacy, lost since 1870, been restored in the form of the Vatican City
Vatican City
Vatican City , or Vatican City State, in Italian officially Stato della Città del Vaticano , which translates literally as State of the City of the Vatican, is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of...
State, but also much new research has been done on the subject of Papal coins, and with it many new discoveries. Moreover, the whole legal and operatiional basis for the issue of papal coinage has been twice substantially modified, once by the Lateran Pacts and once with the introduction of the euro.
While the Catholic Encyclopedia article states, "There can be no papal coins of earlier date than that of the temporal power of the popes", in fact coinage may well have predated the emancipation of the Papal territories from Byzantine
Byzantine
Byzantine usually refers to the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages.Byzantine may also refer to:* A citizen of the Byzantine Empire, or native Greek during the Middle Ages...
authority. The pope, going back at least as far as St. Gregory the Great (590-604), acted on numerous occasions as the paymaster for the Emperor's troops. So it is not too surprising that at some point the Pope might have had to issue the Emperor's coins himself. A number of silver issues from the Rome mint came to light in the early 1980s and these have been demonstrated as showing the monogram
Monogram
A monogram is a motif made by overlapping or combining two or more letters or other graphemes to form one symbol. Monograms are often made by combining the initials of an individual or a company, used as recognizable symbols or logos. A series of uncombined initials is properly referred to as a...
of the reigning Pontiff, even though they also have the devices of the Byzantine emperors of the seventh and early eighth centuries. This fact pushes the known date of the start of Papal coinage back at least as far as the reign of Pope Vitalian
Pope Vitalian
Pope Saint Vitalianus was Pope of the Catholic Church from July 30, 657, until January 27, 672.He was born in Segni, Lazio, the son of Anastasius.-Reign:...
(657-672). Similar issues are known for Pope Adeodatus II
Pope Adeodatus II
Pope Adeodatus II or Pope Deodatus II reigned as Pope from April 11, 672 to June 17, 676. Little is known about him. Most records which remain indicate that Adeodatus was known for his generosity, especially when it came to the poor and to pilgrims....
, Sisinnius
Pope Sisinnius
Pope Sisinnius was Pope for about three weeks in 708.A Syrian by birth, Sisinnius's father's name was John. The paucity of donations to the papacy during his reign indicate that he was probably not from the aristocracy.Sisinnius was selected as...
, Gregory II, Gregory III
Pope Gregory III
Pope Saint Gregory III was pope from 731 to 741. A Syrian by birth, he succeeded Gregory II in March 731. His pontificate, like that of his predecessor, was disturbed by the iconoclastic controversy in the Byzantine Empire, in which he vainly invoked the intervention of Charles Martel.Elected by...
, and Zacharias
Pope Zachary
Pope Saint Zachary was Pope of the Catholic Church from 741 to 752. A Greek from Calabria, he was the last pope of the Byzantine Papacy...
.
All legitimate pontiffs in the 250-year period from Gregory III to Benedict VII issued coins, with the exceptions of Stephen II
Pope Stephen II
Pope Stephen II was Pope from 752 to 757, succeeding Pope Zachary following the death of Pope-elect Stephen. Stephen II marks the historical delineation between the Byzantine Papacy and the Frankish Papacy.-Allegiance to Constantinople:...
(who reigned for only two or three days), Boniface VI, Leo V
Pope Leo V
Pope Leo V, a native of Ardea, was Pope for some thirty days in 903 after the death of Pope Benedict IV . He was dethroned by antipope Christopher , who is sometimes considered a legitimate pope. Elected while a priest, Leo V's pontificate occurred in the darkest period of papal history...
, Lando
Pope Lando
Pope Lando was elected pope in either July or August 913. He died about six months later, in either February or March 914....
, Leo VI, and Stephen IX
Pope Stephen IX
Pope Stephen IX was Pope from August 3, 1057 to March 1058.His baptismal name was Frederick of Lorraine , and he was a younger brother of Godfrey III, Duke of Lower Lorraine, who, as Marquis of Tuscany , played a prominent part in the politics of the period.Frederick, who had...
. Coins are known also for the Antipope Christopher
Antipope Christopher
Christopher held the papacy from October 903 to January 904. Although he was listed as a legitimate Pope in most modern lists of Popes until the first half of the 20th century, the apparently uncanonical method by which he obtained the papacy led to his being removed from the quasi-official roster...
, but these are probably forgeries. After the death of Benedict VII in 983, no further issues were undertaken. However, some authors list several later tenth, eleventh, and twelfth century popes as also having issued coins, but these attributions are due mostly to faulty research. The so-called issues of Pope Paschal II
Pope Paschal II
Pope Paschal II , born Ranierius, was Pope from August 13, 1099, until his death. A monk of the Cluniac order, he was created cardinal priest of the Titulus S...
are later counterfeits. From the last two decades of the twelfth and all the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, the Roman Senate issued coins under its own name, without reference to the Pope.
Papal coinage resumed with the issues of Boniface VIII in 1300, from the mint of Sorges in France, but thirty years earlier, during the so-called Long Conclave of 1268-1271, an issue of silver coins was also struck. These coins are the first of the Sede Vacante
Sede vacante
Sede vacante is an expression, used in the Canon Law of the Catholic Church, that refers to the vacancy of the episcopal see of a particular church...
(vacant chair) pieces, which are issued during the interregnum
Interregnum
An interregnum is a period of discontinuity or "gap" in a government, organization, or social order...
between popes. There were no further Sede Vacante issues until 1378, but the practice became more regular after the death of Leo X in 1521.
All popes from Boniface VIII to Pius IX issued coins, with the notable exception of Leo XI
Pope Leo XI
Pope Leo XI , born Alessandro Ottaviano de' Medici, was Pope from 1 April 1605 to 27 April of the same year.-Biography:...
, who was pope for four weeks in April 1605. However, a pope with an even shorter reign, Urban VII, did issue coins. Pius III and Innocent IX also issued coins, but in gold only. Additionally, four of the antipope
Antipope
An antipope is a person who opposes a legitimately elected or sitting Pope and makes a significantly accepted competing claim to be the Pope, the Bishop of Rome and leader of the Roman Catholic Church. At times between the 3rd and mid-15th century, antipopes were typically those supported by a...
s from the Great Schism
Western Schism
The Western Schism or Papal Schism was a split within the Catholic Church from 1378 to 1417. Two men simultaneously claimed to be the true pope. Driven by politics rather than any theological disagreement, the schism was ended by the Council of Constance . The simultaneous claims to the papal chair...
(1378–1417), Clement VII, Benedict XIII
Antipope Benedict XIII
Benedict XIII, born Pedro Martínez de Luna y Pérez de Gotor , known as in Spanish, was an Aragonese nobleman, who is officially considered by the Catholic Church to be an antipope....
, Alexander V, and Pope John XXIII
Pope John XXIII
-Papal election:Following the death of Pope Pius XII in 1958, Roncalli was elected Pope, to his great surprise. He had even arrived in the Vatican with a return train ticket to Venice. Many had considered Giovanni Battista Montini, Archbishop of Milan, a possible candidate, but, although archbishop...
also issued their own coinage.
Modern history of Papal coin
No official collection of the papal coins was made before the time of Benedict XIV, who acquired from Cardinal Passionei the valuable collection of Scilla, which was enriched later by other acquisitions; in 1809, however, it was taken to Paris, and was never recovered. In the nineteenth century the Holy SeeHoly See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
obtained possession of the collection of Belli, begun in the previous century by Luigi Tommasini, and this collection became the basis of the Numismatic Cabinet, which is under the direction of the prefect of the Vatican Library and has a special custodian.
Since the loss of the Temporal power, the pope has not coined money; each year, however, he strikes the customary medal for the feast of Saint Peter
Saint Peter
Saint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader, who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The son of John or of Jonah and from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee, his brother Andrew was also an apostle...
, which is given to cardinals and to the employees of the Roman Curia
Roman Curia
The Roman Curia is the administrative apparatus of the Holy See and the central governing body of the entire Catholic Church, together with the Pope...
.
In 1866, following the lead of the newly-united Italy (which had occupied 2/3 of the Papal States in 1860), the old baiocco/scudo
Papal States scudo
The Roman scudo was the currency of the Papal States until 1866. It was subdivided into 100 baiocchi , each of 5 quattrini...
system was scrapped in favor of the new lira
Italian lira
The lira was the currency of Italy between 1861 and 2002. Between 1999 and 2002, the Italian lira was officially a “national subunit” of the euro...
, divided into 100 centesimi
Centesimo
Centesimo is an Italian word derived from the Latin centesimus meaning "hundredth". It was equal to 1/100th of currencies named lira. However, not all lira-denominated currencies feature centesimo as their 1/100th subunit...
. This brought Papal coinage size, weight and composition into alignment with the rest of the Latin Monetary Union
Latin Monetary Union
The Latin Monetary Union was a 19th century attempt to unify several European currencies, at a time when most circulating coins were still made of gold and silver...
countries like France, Switzerland, and Spain, in addition to Italy.
After the confiscation of the remainder of the Papal States
Papal States
The Papal State, State of the Church, or Pontifical States were among the major historical states of Italy from roughly the 6th century until the Italian peninsula was unified in 1861 by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia .The Papal States comprised territories under...
and Rome by Italy in 1870, there were of course no further issues until the establishment of the Vatican City State in 1929. However, there are pattern 5-Lire pieces of Leo XIII, coined in 1878 apparently by French friends of the Papacy. No such honor was bestowed on either St. Pius X or Benedict XV, however.
From 1931, the coins of Vatican City have been struck at the Italian State Mint in Rome (there are also coins dated 1929 and 1930, which were struck in 1931 and backdated accordingly), and are legal tender in both Italy and San Marino
San Marino
San Marino, officially the Republic of San Marino , is a state situated on the Italian Peninsula on the eastern side of the Apennine Mountains. It is an enclave surrounded by Italy. Its size is just over with an estimated population of over 30,000. Its capital is the City of San Marino...
, in addition to the Holy See. Initially, coins were produced in the denominations of 5 and 10 Centesimi (in bronze), 20 and 50 Centesimi, and 1 and 2 Lire in nickel, 5 and 10 Lire in silver, and 100 Lire in gold. All popes since Pius XI have had coin issues, including the brief reign of John Paul I, which is represented by a 1000-Lire silver piece struck posthumously.
As the value of the Italian Lira declined in the years since World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, new denominations in progressively higher values were been introduced, with the lower values dropping off. All the centesimi denominations ceased to be issued after 1946, the gold 100-Lire after 1959, and the by-now tiny aluminum 1- and 2-Lire issues ended after 1977, with the 5-Lire disappearing a year later.
Before the Lira was replaced by the euro in 2002, issues for John Paul II included a 10-Lire piece in aluminum, a 20-Lire piece in an aluminum-bronze alloy, 50-Lire and 100-Lire pieces in copper-nickel
Cupronickel
Cupronickel or copper-nickel or "cupernickel" is an alloy of copper that contains nickel and strengthening elements, such as iron and manganese. Cupronickel is highly resistant to corrosion in seawater, because its electrode potential is adjusted to be neutral with regard to seawater...
, a 200-Lire coin in aluminum-bronze, and ringed, bimetallic 500- and 1000-Lire pieces for circulation and in the annual sets. Additionally, commemorative 500- and 1000-Lire pieces were struck in silver, as were 10,000-Lire pieces struck since 1995 for the upcoming Holy Year. Series of two gold coin issues, in the values of 50,000 Lire (.917 Gold, 0.2211 AGW/6.87gms, 7.5gms total weight) and 100,000 Lire (.917 Gold, 0.4422 AGW/13.74gms, 15gms total weight), were also struck in connection with Holy Year 2000. These were minted from 1996 to 2000.
Agreements with the European Union allowed the Holy See to switch to euro
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
coinage when Italy did in 2002, even though Vatican City is not a member state of the European Union. Current issues include 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 cent and 1 and 2 euro denominations, in addition to commemorative coins of 5 and 10 euro in silver, as well as 20 and 50 euro in gold.
All these issues, the regular coinage, and the silver and gold commemoratives, can be obtained through mail order directly from the Vatican at the following address:
-
-
- Ufficio Filatelico e Numismatico
- Governatorato
- 00120 Città del Vaticano
- VATICAN CITY
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Sources
- Berman, Allen. Papal Coins, Attic Books, 1991
- Krause, Chet and Mishler, Cliff. Standard Catalog of World Coins, Krause Publications, 2007
- Pollard, John F. (2005). Money and the Rise of the Modern Papacy: Financing the Vatican, 1850–1950. Cambridge University Press.
- Ryan, John Carlin. A Handbook of Papal Coins 1268-1534, John Carlin Ryan, 1989
- Sear, David. Byzantine Coins and Their Values, B.A. Seaby, Ltd., 1987