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1 Denaro obolo - Carlo V
| Issuer | Naples, Kingdom of |
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| Year | 1519-1556 |
| Type | Standard circulation coin |
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| Obverse description | Two crowned Pillars of Hercules rising from stylized waves, each surmounted by a crown, flanking the motto PLVS VLTRA in the field between them. The entire design is enclosed within a beaded inner circle, with the imperial legend running along the outer circumference. The composition evokes Charles V's imperial ambitions and his New World dominions. |
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| Reverse description | A Jerusalem Cross — a large central cross with four smaller crosslets in each canton — occupies the central field, rendered in a bold hammered style characteristic of Neapolitan billon coinage of the period. The cross is contained within a beaded inner circle, with the royal titulature legend distributed around the periphery. The design affirms Charles V's claim to the kingdoms of the Two Sicilies and his crusading dynastic heritage. |
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| Additional information |
Carlo V never set foot in Naples as its ruler — he delegated governance entirely to a succession of viceroys while simultaneously managing the Holy Roman Empire, the Spanish kingdoms, and ongoing wars with France and the Ottomans. The denaro obolo was the smallest fractional coin in circulation during his reign, a billon piece so debased that contemporaries routinely complained about its purchasing power relative to its nominal value. Neapolitan monetary ordinances from the 1520s repeatedly attempted to stabilize the billon coinage against rampant counterfeiting, with limited success.