10 Soldi

The Ligurian Republic was a French client state proclaimed in Genoa in June 1797 following Napoleon's reorganization of northern Italy, replacing a government that had existed in various forms since the medieval comune. This billon issue belongs to the republic's earliest coinage, struck before French annexation in 1805 rendered the whole series obsolete. Billon — a debased silver alloy — was the practical choice for fractional denominations in a city whose finances had been strained by forced contributions to French military operations.