Catalog
48 Scudi
| Issuer | Sacro Monte della Pietà di Roma |
|---|---|
| Year | 1788 |
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| Currency | Scudo (1534-1835) |
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| Obverse description | Letterpress-printed cedola in black ink on cream paper, with a decorative rectangular border enclosing the text of the note. The issuer's name, S. MONTE DELLA PIETÀ DI ROMA, is set in large display type at centre, above the promise to pay Scudi Romani Quarantotto at ten giulj per scudo to the bearer. The denomination numeral 48 appears in a typeset cartouche at the top centre, flanked by ornamental guilloche-style typographic vignettes, with handwritten manuscript annotations, official stamps, and signatures added by authorising officials at upper left and lower left. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | 48 QUINDICI GENNARO MILLE SETTECENTO OTTANTOTTO S. M. DI PIETA DI ROMA La presente Cedola vaglia Scudi Romani Quarantaotto da giulj dieci per Scudo da pagarsi all` Esibitore. |
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| Comments |
The Sacro Monte della Pietà di Roma was not a central bank but a papal pawnbroking institution — a monte di pietà — originally established in the sixteenth century to provide low-interest loans to the Roman poor as a charitable alternative to moneylenders. By the late eighteenth century it had evolved into something closer to a deposit bank, and its printed polizze functioned as a recognized medium of exchange within the Papal States.
The 48 scudi denomination is an oddity. Roman accounting of the period used the scudo divided into 100 baiocchi, but 48 scudi corresponds to no obvious fractional or administrative unit — it may reflect a specific loan class or pledge valuation rather than a round monetary denomination designed for general circulation.