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1/2 Zecchino - Pius VI
| Issuer | Bologna (Papal States) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1786 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 1/2 Zecchino (1.075) |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
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| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | St. Petronius, patron and protector of Bologna, depicted seated three-quarters facing on a cloud, vested in full episcopal robes with mitre, holding a crozier in his left hand and raising his right hand in blessing. Two heraldic shields are positioned in the lower field to either side of the saint, with the mint initials G P appearing in the exergue. The date 1786 is incorporated into the surrounding legend, which identifies the saint and his role as protector of Bologna. |
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| Edge | Log in to see details |
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| Additional information |
Pius VI authorized Bologna's continued half-zecchino production well into the 1780s despite mounting fiscal strain on the Papal States, strain that would culminate within a decade in Napoleon's forced extraction of 21 million scudi under the Treaty of Tolentino. Bologna operated as a semi-autonomous papal legation with its own mint, and the city's coinage ran parallel to — but distinct from — Roman issues throughout the eighteenth century.
The .986 fineness held to a standard Bologna had maintained since the Renaissance, a deliberate marker of mercantile credibility in northern Italian trade networks where coin purity was negotiated rather than assumed.