1 Grosso - Clement XI

Clement XI's pontificate was consumed almost entirely by the War of the Spanish Succession, in which he backed Philip V and was subsequently invaded by Austrian forces who occupied much of the Papal States between 1708 and 1709. The financial strain on the papal treasury during these years was considerable, making small silver issues like this grosso a practical necessity for local commerce rather than a prestige emission.

Clement is better remembered numismatically for the considerable variety of his coinage than for any single type — Berman catalogues well over two hundred distinct issues across his 21-year reign.