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10 Tornesi, 2 1/2 Soldini
| Issuer | Venice, Republic of |
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| Year | 1611-1615 |
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| Currency | Venice-Crete - Lire (1205-1669) |
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| Obverse description | The facing Lion of St. Mark, the heraldic emblem of the Venetian Republic, is depicted frontally in the central field, flanked on either side by a small rose ornament. The denomination mark 'T·10' (denoting 10 Tornesi) appears in the exergue below the lion. The design is executed in a bold, high-relief style characteristic of Venetian colonial copper coinage struck for Crete. No surrounding legend is present, leaving the field plain around the principal device. |
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| Reverse description | The reverse displays a three-line Latin inscription arranged across the central field, reading 'SOL / DLNI / 2 1/2' (an abbreviation of 'Soldini 2 1/2'), denoting the subsidiary denomination. The inscription is enclosed within a prominent ornamented circular border composed of interlocking scroll and foliate motifs, with small rosette or star stops flanking the numeral fraction. The entire design is contained within a toothed or beaded outer rim, consistent with hammered Venetian copper coinage of the early seventeenth century. |
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| Additional information |
The tornese denominations of early seventeenth-century Venice were introduced largely to address a chronic shortage of small copper coinage circulating in the Terraferma — the republic's mainland territories — where Spanish and papal billon had been filling the gap unofficially for decades. The Senate's 1609 monetary reforms authorized new copper struck at the Zecca, ending a long reluctance to issue base metal under the republic's own authority.
Paolucci 878 is among the scarcer of the early tornesi varieties, with surviving examples typically showing heavy flan porosity from the copper stock used in this period.