2 Baiocchi - Pius VI

Pius VI reigned for nearly a quarter century, but the final years of this coin's issue were catastrophic. French Revolutionary forces invaded the Papal States in 1796, and by February 1797 — the last year of this type — Napoleon had imposed the Treaty of Tolentino, stripping the papacy of significant territories and demanding enormous financial indemnities. Copper coinage of this period circulated under severe monetary stress, and minting priorities shifted dramatically as the papal treasury was systematically drained.

Pius VI himself died a French prisoner in Valence in 1799, the first pope to die in captivity since the Avignon period.