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5 Tornesi - Francesco I

Issuer Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
Year 1826-1827
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Diameter 31.5 mm
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Obverse description Bare-headed bust of King Francesco I facing right, with short hair and draped shoulders, occupying the central field. The circumferential Latin legend reads FRANC.I.D.G.REGNI VTR.SIC.ET HIER.REX, abbreviating his full royal title as King of the Two Sicilies and Jerusalem by the Grace of God. The portrait is rendered in a neoclassical style typical of Bourbon Neapolitan coinage of the 1820s. A finely beaded inner border frames the design.
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Obverse lettering FRANC.I.D.G.REGNI VTR.SIC.ET HIER.REX
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Additional information

Francesco I ruled the Two Sicilies for only five years, 1825 to 1830, sandwiched between his more consequential father Ferdinand I and his son Ferdinand II. The 5 Tornesi was a workhorse denomination in the Neapolitan copper series, produced at the Naples mint which had been reorganized following the Bourbon restoration after the Napoleonic interlude — a period that had introduced French-style decimal coinage and left the monetary system in considerable administrative disarray.

The Tornese itself was an ancient Neapolitan unit of account with medieval roots, retained long past its logical lifespan largely through popular familiarity.

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