Catalog
21 Scudi
| Issuer | Sacro Monte della Pietà di Roma |
|---|---|
| Year | 1792 |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 21 PRIMO FEBRARO MILLE SETTECENTO NOVANTADUE S. M. DI PIETA DI ROMA La presente Cedola vaglia Scudi Romani Ventiuno da giulj dieci per Scudo da pagarsi all` Esibitore. |
| Reverse description | Plain paper reverse printed in black with the denomination numeral 21 and the word VENTUNO repeated multiple times in typeset frames arranged in a grid pattern across the entire surface, serving as a counter-check device. Two handwritten signatures appear at centre, along with scattered manuscript notations. The text shows through from the obverse, giving the note a heavily impressed appearance consistent with letterpress production. |
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| Comments |
The Sacro Monte della Pietà di Roma was one of the oldest pawnbroking institutions in Europe, founded in 1539 under papal authority to provide credit to the poor at rates that undercut Jewish moneylenders — a deliberate and officially sanctioned policy. By the late eighteenth century it had evolved into a quasi-banking operation issuing cedole, interest-bearing paper obligations that circulated alongside hard currency in Rome.
The denomination of 21 Scudi is characteristically awkward, almost certainly reflecting a specific loan increment or interest-calculation convention rather than any standard monetary unit. Odd fractional denominations appear throughout this institution's note issues for exactly that reason.