1 Quattrino - Innocent XII

Innocent XII, born Antonio Pignatelli, issued this quattrino during a pontificate defined largely by his 1692 bull Romanum decet Pontificem, which formally abolished papal nepotism — a decision that ended the entrenched practice of popes enriching family members with church offices and revenues. Bologna's mint, operating under papal authority since the city's absorption into the Papal States in the sixteenth century, continued producing small copper coinage for local commerce throughout his reign. The quattrino sat at the lowest practical denomination in circulation, handling the everyday transactions that silver and gold never touched.