1/2 Zecchino - Clement XIV

Clement XIV's pontificate began in 1769 under enormous pressure from the Catholic monarchies of Spain, France, and Portugal, all demanding suppression of the Jesuits. He issued this coin in the first year of his reign, and four years later signed the brief Dominus ac Redemptor, dissolving the Society of Jesus — a decision that effectively defined his papacy and, many historians argue, hastened his death in 1774, with contemporaries suspecting poison.