Catalog
13 Scudi
| Issuer | Sacro Monte della Pietà di Roma |
|---|---|
| Year | 1788 |
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| Currency | Scudo (1534-1835) |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 13 SETTE GENARO MILLE SETTECENTO OTTANTOTTO S. M. DI PIETA DI ROMA La presente Cedola vaglia Scudi Romani Tredici da giulj dieci per Scudo da pagarsi all` Esibitore. |
| Reverse description | The reverse is plain unprinted paper bearing the denomination numeral "13" repeated in small typeset frames at each of the four corners. The remainder of the surface carries various handwritten manuscript endorsements, registry notations, and official annotations in period ink, consistent with the note having circulated through multiple hands within the Papal States administration. |
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| Comments |
The Sacro Monte della Pietà di Roma was one of the oldest pawnbroking institutions in Europe, chartered in 1539 under papal authority to provide credit to the poor as an alternative to usurious private lenders. By the late eighteenth century it had evolved into something closer to a deposit bank, and these certificati — issued in unusual fractional denominations rather than round figures — functioned as transferable receipts against deposits held at the Monte.
The 13 Scudi denomination is characteristically odd. The series runs in irregular multiples that reflect actual deposit amounts rather than any rationalized currency plan, which is what distinguishes Monte della Pietà paper from conventional state-issued banknotes of the period.
Manuscript date and validation signatures are integral to authenticity on all known examples of this series.