Catalog
16 Scudi
| Issuer | Sacro Monte della Pietà di Roma |
|---|---|
| Year | 1792 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Letterpress-printed note on plain paper with an engraved rectangular border. The issuer's name, S. MONTE DELLA PIETÀ DI ROMA, is set in large display type at centre, below the date line PRIMO FEBBRAIO MILLE SETTECENTO NOVANTADUE. The denomination numeral 16 appears in a small decorative cartouche at the top centre, and the body text states the cedola's value in Roman Scudi payable to the bearer at ten giulii per Scudo. Multiple manuscript signatures, a registration entry, a serial number, and an official circular ink stamp of the Sacro Monte della Pietà are applied by hand across the face. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The reverse is printed with repeated typeset impressions of the denomination SEDICI and the numeral 16 arranged in a grid pattern across the entire surface, serving as a security underprint against fraudulent alteration of the face value. Several manuscript notations and a faint circular official stamp are also visible. |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
The Sacro Monte della Pietà di Roma was one of the oldest functioning pawnbroking institutions in Europe, established in 1539 under papal protection to provide credit to the poor at controlled rates — a deliberate counter to usurious private lenders. By the late eighteenth century it had evolved into something closer to a deposit bank, issuing fede di credito that circulated as a recognized paper currency within the Papal States. These were not banknotes in the modern sense but transferable credit certificates, endorsed on the reverse each time they changed hands.
The 16 scudi denomination is an awkward one, suggesting this certificate was likely issued to a specific depositor for a specific sum rather than as a round-denomination instrument intended for general trade.