37 Scudi

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 low interest — a direct counter to usurious private moneylenders. By the late eighteenth century it had evolved into a quasi-banking entity issuing fedi di credito, interest-bearing deposit receipts that circulated as de facto currency across the Papal States. These were not banknotes in the modern sense but transferable certificates, with ownership changed by endorsement on the reverse.

The 37 Scudi denomination is irregular enough to suggest this was issued against a specific deposit rather than printed in advance as a round-figure series.