1 Bolognino - Francesco III d'Este

Francesco III d'Este ruled Modena for over four decades but spent much of that time deeply in debt, having mortgaged the duchy's finances through military adventures and an extravagant court. In 1753 he effectively sold his governorship services to Louis XV, administering the French province of Burgundy in exchange for a pension that helped prop up Modena's treasury. The bolognino — a denomination with roots stretching back to medieval Bologna — persisted in the Este monetary system largely out of practical necessity for small daily transactions, copper being cheap enough to produce in quantity without further straining ducal finances.