Catalog
43 Scudi
| Issuer | Sacro Monte della Pietà di Roma |
|---|---|
| Year | 1788 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Shape | Rectangular |
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| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Letterpress-printed cedola in black ink on plain paper, enclosed within a decorative typographic border. The issuer's name S. MONTE DELLA PIETÀ DI ROMA is set in large display type at centre, above the printed text stating the obligation to pay the bearer Scudi Romani Quarantatre at ten giulii per scudo, valid throughout the Ecclesiastical State. The denomination numeral 43 appears in a ruled cartouche at upper centre, with handwritten date, registry number, and multiple manuscript signatures and official ink stamps applied over the face. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
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| Reverse lettering | 43 |
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| Comments |
The Sacro Monte della Pietà di Roma was a papal pawnbroking institution established in 1539, and by the late eighteenth century its paper instruments — known as cedole — functioned as a de facto circulating currency within Rome. This 43 Scudi piece is an odd denomination by design, not accident: cedole were issued in the exact amount of the pawned collateral, meaning each note is technically unique to a specific transaction.
The manuscript signatures and embossed seal were the authentication mechanism, applied at the moment of issue by bank officials. No two cedole left the counter identical.