800 Scudi

The Sacro Monte della Pietà di Roma was a papal pawnbroking institution, founded in the sixteenth century to provide low-interest loans to the poor as an alternative to moneylenders. By the late eighteenth century it had long since evolved into a significant credit institution, and its fedi di credito — of which this is one — functioned effectively as high-denomination transferable instruments among Rome's merchant and banking classes. The 800 Scudi figure places this well above everyday commercial use.

These notes were handwritten on printed forms, completed by bank officials, and authenticated with an embossed dry seal. No two examples are identical. The absence of intaglio printing or complex anti-counterfeiting typography reflects both the institution's conservative methods and the reality that circulation at this level depended on personal trust and institutional reputation rather than technical security.