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1/2 Baiocco - Pius VI
| Issuer | San Severino (Papal States) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1796-1798 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse bears a bold, multi-line inscription in capital letters across the field, reading MEZZO / BAIOCCO / S·SEVERI / NO, denoting the denomination (half baiocco) and the issuing mint of San Severino. The lettering is large and occupies most of the coin's flat surface, with minimal decorative elements. The inscription is enclosed within a beaded inner circle and a milled outer border consistent with the obverse treatment. The plain, text-only design is characteristic of minor Papal States copper coinage of the late eighteenth century. |
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| Mintage | ND (1796) - XXII - ND (1797) - XXII on shield - ND (1797) - XXIII - ND (1797) - XXIII - ND (1797) - XXIII, small shield - 1797 - XIII - 1797 - XIII, no mezzo on reverse - 1797 - XXII on shield - 1797 - XXII, inverse Z in MEZZO - 1798 - XXIII - |
| Additional information |
San Severino was one of several small Papal States mints briefly authorized to strike copper coinage in the 1790s as Rome struggled to maintain adequate small-denomination supply across its fragmented territorial administration. The timing is pointed: French republican forces under Bonaparte were systematically dismembering papal temporal power during precisely these years, culminating in the Treaty of Tolentino in February 1797, which stripped Pius VI of significant territories and an enormous cash indemnity. Local copper issues like this one filled gaps left by a treasury increasingly bled dry by French demands.
San Severino's output was small and its operating window narrow — the mint did not survive the upheaval of 1798, when French troops occupied Rome and deposed Pius VI entirely.