Catalog
32 Scudi
| Issuer | Monte di Pietà di Roma |
|---|---|
| Year | 1788 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Paper |
| 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 | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 32 GENNARO MILLE SETTICENTO OTTANTOTTO S. MONTE DELLA PIETA DI ROMA La presente Cedola vale Scudi Romani Trentadue da giulj Dieci per Scudo da pagarsi all` Esibitore Vaglia per tutto lo STATO ECCLESIASTICO |
| Reverse description | The plain paper reverse carries the denomination numeral 32 repeated in small typeset cartouches at each of the four corners, allowing rapid denomination identification. Manuscript endorsements and handwritten notations in ink are distributed across the surface, including apparent transfer or ownership inscriptions and authorising signatures consistent with multiple changes of hand during circulation. The paper exhibits pronounced fold lines and overall age toning characteristic of extensively used early Papal cedole. |
| 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 Monte di Pietà di Roma was one of the oldest functioning pawnbroking institutions in Europe, founded in 1539 under papal auspices to provide low-interest loans to the poor as an alternative to moneylenders. By the late eighteenth century it had evolved into something closer to a deposit bank, and its fedi di credito — of which this is one — functioned as transferable credit certificates rather than conventional banknotes. The 32 Scudi denomination is an odd one, suggesting this was issued against a specific pledged amount rather than produced in a round-figure series.
These instruments circulated primarily among merchants and institutions in Rome who trusted the Monte's papal backing. The French occupation of Rome in 1798 effectively ended the institution's independent operations.