10 Soldi

Genoa's billon coinage of the 1630s and 1640s was struck under persistent fiscal strain — the Republic was managing the tail end of its role as the dominant financier of the Spanish Crown, a relationship that had made Genoese bankers extraordinarily wealthy but left the city's own monetary system chronically debased. The 10 Soldi occupied an awkward middle denomination, too large for petty transactions but too debased to be trusted for serious commerce, which explains why survivors typically show heavy circulation wear.