Catalog
⅙ Pezzetta - Honoré II
| Issuer | Monaco |
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| Year | 1648 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | 1.52 g |
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| Obverse description | Crowned shield of Monaco bearing the dynastic arms of the Grimaldi family, composed of lozenges arranged in a fusily pattern. The crowned arms are depicted in a bold, slightly crude hammered style characteristic of 17th-century Monegasque coinage. The surrounding legend reads HON. II. D.G. PRINC. MON. &c, identifying the issuer as Honoré II, by the Grace of God Prince of Monaco. |
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| Reverse script | Latin |
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| Additional information |
Honoré II secured formal recognition of Monegasque sovereignty from Louis XIII in 1642, just six years before this coin was struck — the principality had previously existed under Spanish protection, and the switch to French suzerainty reshaped Monaco's political and economic footing entirely. The pezzetta and its fractions were among the first issues reflecting that new alignment, with billon coinage serving the small-denomination needs of a population that numbered only in the hundreds.