1/2 Baiocco - Leo XII Inscription in wreath

Leo XII's 1824 coinage came early in a pontificate defined by reaction — he reversed many of the administrative modernizations introduced under Pius VII and reimposed restrictive social legislation across the Papal States, including a crackdown on Jews confined to the ghetto and prohibitions on vaccination. The copper fractional issues of this year were among the first struck under his authority following his election in September 1823, making them the earliest material expression of a reign that would prove deeply conservative even by papal standards.