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27 Scudi
| Issuer | Sacro Monte della Pietà di Roma |
|---|---|
| Year | 1797 |
| Type | Standard circulation banknote |
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|---|---|
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| Reverse description | Plain paper reverse printed entirely in black with the denomination repeated multiple times across the surface in two alternating forms: the numeral 27 and the written-out Italian word VENTISETTE, arranged in a grid-like pattern filling the field. A handwritten manuscript inscription appears along the upper edge, and an additional handwritten notation with a signature is present in the lower right area. |
| Reverse lettering | 27 VENTISETTE (Translation: Twenty seven.) |
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| Comments |
The Sacro Monte della Pietà di Roma was one of the oldest pawnbroking and credit institutions in Europe, founded in 1539 under papal authority to provide low-interest loans to Rome's poor — a direct counter to usurious private lenders. By 1797, however, the institution was operating under enormous strain. Napoleon's Italian campaigns had destabilized the Papal States' finances, and the French occupation of Rome was imminent; the city would fall in February 1798 and the Roman Republic proclaimed shortly after.
Notes of this institution circulated as genuine credit instruments, backed by deposited valuables held in the Monte's vaults. The 27-scudo denomination is irregular enough to suggest it reflects a specific loan valuation rather than a round-figure monetary unit.