Catalog
1½ Paoli
| Issuer | Roman Republic |
|---|---|
| Year | 1798 |
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| Reference(s) | P#S534 |
| Obverse description | The obverse is printed in black on plain paper within an ornate typographic border. A central vignette of a double-headed eagle with spread wings is flanked by two oval medallions, the left bearing a standing allegorical female figure inscribed REPUBLICA ROMANA, the right bearing a similar figure inscribed FEDE REPUBLICA. Below the vignette, the denomination is stated in letterpress as Ass. di P. UNO e MEZZO, with further text citing the legal authority of Article X of the Law of 23 Fructidor Year Six; a handwritten serial number in red ink and a manuscript signature appear in the lower portion of the note. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | The reverse is printed in black on plain paper with no border decoration. The denomination P. UNO, e MEZZO is repeated in letterpress at each of the four corners. At centre, an oval cartouche stamp reads PAO UNO E MEZZO with additional script inside, serving as a control mark for the note. |
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| Comments |
The Roman Republic declared in February 1798 lasted barely sixteen months before French military protection collapsed and papal authority was restored. This 1½ Paoli note belongs to that window — an improvised monetary system built on the ruins of the papal treasury, which the French had systematically stripped before handing the city over to the new republican administration. The denomination itself is inherited from the old papal coinage, the paolo being a silver coin long associated with Rome, here repurposed for a government that had abolished the institution which named it.
The S-prefix in the Pick reference signals a specialized or regional listing — appropriate for a note whose issuing authority ceased to exist before the century turned.