Papal Roman Numismatics

PAPAL ROMAN NUMISMATICS. - Within the framework of the coinage of the Italian peninsula from the fall of the Roman Empire down to our own day, the coinage of papal Rome constitutes one of the longest-lasting groups, richest in issues, most varied in pieces and most interesting, from every point of view, of all the series that have been minted in Italy.

I. METALS AND ALLOYS

The coinage of papal Rome was struck in the metals and alloys used at the same time by the other Italian and foreign mints (gold, silver, billon, bronze), according to the periods and the monetary series themselves.

1. Gold

It appears that the Senate of Rome around 1350 instituted the Roman ducat or florin (imitated from the Venetian zecchino), whose issue was definitively suspended a century later by Eugene IV (1431-47) in order to replace it with his own ducat, which begins the true papal gold series of Rome. But even earlier Pope John XXII, around 1323, had struck at the mint of Ponte della Sorga the first gold florin in imitation of the Florentine one, whose issue continued under his immediate successors Clement VI, Urban V, etc. Paul II (1464-72), alongside the papal ducat, struck the florin or ducat of the Camera, which was replaced by Paul II (1534-49) with gold scudi. With Alexander VI (1472-1503) the double ducat of the Camera made its first appearance, struck again by Julius II, Leo X, Adrian VI, Clement VII, Paul III.

With Paul V (1605-21) there were double and quadruple gold pieces, struck together with the scudo by Clement IX and X, Innocent XI, Alexander VIII and Clement XI. With Benedict XIII (1724-30) were added the double zecchino, the zecchino, the half and the quarter zecchino.

The Roman Republic (1798-99) and the Napoleonic occupation (1799-1800) did not strike gold. Napoleon, however, struck the 20-franc piece. With Pius VII (1800-22) the series of doppie resumed. Gregory XVI struck pieces of 10 scudi, 5 scudi, 2 and a half scudi, and 2 scudi; finally from 1866 to 1870 the second coinage of Pius IX, on the decimal system, included gold pieces of 100, 50, 20, 10, 5 lire.

2. Silver

The first coinage of papal Rome is of silver, represented by the denarii of Adrian I (772-795 A.D.), followed by the series of the so-called antiquiores, silver coins that pair the name of the pope with that of the emperor reigning at the same time; they bear the monograms of the names from Stephen V to Benedict VII, paired with the monograms of the names of the emperors from Louis I to Otto III. After a gap of about two centuries, with Celestine V the issue of silver began again in Rome, but in the name of the Roman Senate (1184-1439); these are the grossi and half grossi, at first anonymous, then with the names of the Roman senators Brancaleone di Andalò and Charles I of Anjou, then with the coats of arms of the Caetani, Orsini, Colonna, Savelli, Annibaldi, Stefaneschi families, with which we reach about the middle of the 14th century. At the same time the so-called anonymous sampierini of the Roman Senate were struck. During the interval of the Avignon exile, from Boniface VIII to Urban V, the mints of Ponte della Sorga, Viterbo, Macerata, and perhaps also Parma, struck in Italy in the name of the pontiff; and in France, Avignon. The activity of the mint of Rome resumed with Urban V, with the silver half grossi and bolognini, which continued in Rome with Gregory XI, Boniface XIX, and Gregory XII; the issue of this coin became regularized with Martin V Colonna, Eugene IV, etc. Julius II struck the giuli; Leo X also the triple and double giulio; Paul III the testone, the paolo and the half paolo; Sixtus V the piastra.

Scudi and testoni represented, from Urban VIII to Gregory XVI, together with lower denominations, the striking of silver. The first Republic and the Napoleonic occupation struck scudi and half scudi, and Napoleon, emperor and king of Italy, the franc and the five-franc piece. The first coinage of Pius IX (1846-66) consists of scudi, half scudi, double giuli and giuli; and the second (1866-1870) of pieces of 5 lire and lower denominations.

3. Billon-copper

Beginning with the provisini of the Roman Senate (1184-1439 ca.), a good quantity of the divisional coinage of Rome, of minimal real value and eminently forced circulation, was struck in billon, a varying alloy of silver and copper. Thus the denarii or cinque, the piccioli of the Roman Senate of the mint of Rome (croceleone), the denarii provisini of the Roman Senate (1184-1250; 1300-1404); the piccioli of Benedict XI, of John XXII, Benedict XII, of local mints; the double denarii and the obols of Urban V; the piccioli of Nicholas V, Callistus III, Pius II, Paul II; and also the quattrini of Leo X, Clement VII, Paul III, etc.; the muraiole of Alexander VIII, the pieces of 4 baiocchi, of 2 baiocchi and the baiocco of Clement XII, Benedict XIV, etc.; the carlini and the muraiole of Clement XIV, the pieces of 60 baiocchi, 25 baiocchi and the baiocco of Pius VI.

Copper served preferably for the lower denominations of the local papal mints, active especially in the 17th and 18th centuries, beginning with the double quattrino of Alexander VI to the half baiocco of Paul V. Of copper are the quattrini of Paul V, Gregory XV, Urban VIII, Alexander VII; the quattrini and half baiocchi struck by almost all the successors, down to the madonnine of five baiocchi and the sampierini of 2 and a half baiocchi and the baiocchi of Pius VI and VII, Gregory XVI and Pius IX.

II. LOCAL PAPAL MINTS

Besides the mint of Rome, others operated in the Papal State, in varying numbers, more or less actively, and even intermittently depending on the period.

Already in the 13th and 14th centuries there are coins of Viterbo "Patrimonium beati Petri", and in the period of the Avignon captivity, besides Avignon, Ponte della Sorga, and then Macerata, Parma, Bologna.

Avignon is the mint that struck an almost uninterrupted series of issues beginning with Boniface IX (1389-1404) throughout the 15th and 16th centuries down to at least Alexander VII, and then under Innocent XII (1691-1700). For an even longer period and in a rich uninterrupted series, in the three metals, Bologna minted from the 13th century to Pius IX. Already active in the 15th century were Fermo, Foligno, Ascoli, Spoleto, Ancona and Macerata (Paul II), Recanati (Nicholas V), to which were added with Julius II Perugia, and with Leo X Pesaro, Ravenna, Modena, Parma, Piacenza, Reggio, Camerino, Fabriano, etc. Under Alexander VI and Julius II at least 9 and then 7 mints were operating, under Leo X 14, under Clement VIII 4; from Paul V to Alexander VII only 3 appear to have been active (Ferrara, Bologna, Avignon); from Innocent XI to Clement XII only 2 (Bologna and Ferrara); under Clement XIV occasionally also Gubbio and Ravenna; then under Leo XII, Gregory XVI and Pius IX, only Bologna. Under Pius VI copper was struck in the name of at least eighteen cities. Under Pius VII only Rome remained active.

III. GENERAL TYPOLOGY

The course and development of the typology of the enormous mass of coins in the three metals, struck by the mint of papal Rome for at least 13 centuries and which circulated for just as long on the peninsula, follow only to a minimal degree the general directives of the typology of the other major Italian series.

The first period expresses the attempts at an autonomous silver coinage that seeks to conform to the current coinage of the more or less neighboring countries, all under the influence of the Carolingian denarius or of Byzantine coinage. These are the silver denarii of Adrian I (772-95), which strangely imitate the Beneventan gold solidus of Byzantine inspiration. Then come the denarii of monogrammatic type that pair the name (in abbreviation) of the emperor with that of the reigning pontiff: the so-called antiquiores, a separate series not well defined either historically or politically, but which bears witness to a pairing on the same level of the two powers. The series covers the period and the names of at least 36 pontiffs and at least 15 emperors and kings, from Leo III and Charlemagne (795-816; 801-14), and continues sporadically without and with the name of the emperor, down to Leo IX (1048-54). Then comes the great parenthesis of the so-called senatorial coins (ca. 1184-1439), an emanation of the civic senatorial government of Rome, represented by the provisini of billon and of foreign imitation, by the grossi with senatorial coats of arms and with the types of the passant lion of Guelph inspiration and of Rome seated on a throne derived from the type of late Roman antiquity, and finally by the gold zecchini of Venetian imitation. The period of the Avignon captivity is marked by the silver grossi with the mitred pope, blessing, seated frontally on a throne, of Angevin inspiration, struck by various papal mints in Italy and abroad, and by the silver bolognini with the frontal bust of the mitred pope, where the legend DE ROMA URBI or IN ROMA URBI determines without ambiguity its Roman mint.

There follows the most pronounced period of transition, which runs from the return of Urban V (1362-71) to Rome until the reform of Eugene IV (1431-47), whose rich group of coins still presents the type, which may be called

Avignon-style, of the pope seated frontally on a throne with tiara and cope, blessing, to which is paired the type of the two bound keys, symbol of St. Peter and of his power in the kingdom of heaven. This period is also called that of conciliation between the two authorities, the papal and the senatorial or that of the people of Rome. With Eugene IV the coin finally assumes an exclusively papal character; the coat of arms of the pontiff or of his family, until then imposed on the coin only as an accessory of the reverse type (usually the two crossed and bound keys), becomes the true and proper type of the coin itself, to which is joined the figure of St. Peter or of St. Paul, or of both, standing, frontal, with their respective accessories. The same typology is presented by the subsequent popes Nicholas V, Callixtus III, Paul II, etc., while the new type of the barque of St. Peter and some episodic scenes insinuate themselves. With Julius II the first portrait of the reigning pope appears on the coin, which will present itself constantly for each of his successors, albeit only on the more important and significant issues. With Leo X the episodic types and some emblematic type are inserted in greater number; with Julius II the first personifications (Roma-Concordia). Paul III presents St. Peter with the triregnum seated on a chair. Sixtus V begins, with St. Francis, the not rich series of saints. With Clement VIII, Paul V, etc., the large silver scudi allow ever more complex and animated figurations, various scenes with architectural backgrounds, panoramic views, monuments, etc. With Innocent XI the epigraphic type begins to predominate on the coins, which is largely exploited by his successors throughout the 18th century; even the copper abundantly struck under Benedict XIV bears inscribed in a wreath or in a cartouche the denomination of the nominal it represents (1 Roman baiocco, half baiocco, etc.). The typology of the popes of the 18th century is limited to a few types, the most common; already scanty for Innocent XIII, Benedict XII, etc., poor for the long reigns of Benedict XIV and Pius VI, it is exhausted in the 19th century with Pius VII, Leo XII and Pius IX.

Little can be said of the art of coin engraving and of stylistic evolution, which on the coin are discerned only in their general lines and in an expression reduced to the barest terms. In the early Middle Ages the coin reflects in imitative types the artistic environment in which it is born, in its every formal element, that is, in the treatment of the types with dots and lines, in the most absolute schematism, in the frontal fixity of the figures, in the rigidity of the attitudes, in the complete lack of expression and individuality, so that only from the accessories and the legends can they be identified.

But, once past the millennium and having advanced into the Italian late Middle Ages, little by little the frontal position of the human body is attenuated by the slight lateral movement of the head; the corporeity of the figures is accentuated, the arms detach from the body, the legs assume different positions to hint at a movement, to determine a more normal balance, the drapery softens into folds where lights and shadows again insinuate themselves and underline the forms; then the whole figure seems to move in an action, and assumes attitudes ever more natural and responsive to the conception of the sixteenth-century engraver artist. Finally the particulars of the environment itself are underlined, the waves of the sea beneath the ship, the floor beneath the figures of the scene, etc. When then, in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, the diameter of the large silver scudo permits it, the law of proportions returns to prevail and dominate, with a depiction of realistic scenes, and of various kinds, in the most varied environments, with rich environmental particulars: churches and palaces, fountains, bridges and viaducts, backgrounds and panoramic views, etc. Then the advanced seventeenth century is reflected on the coin, where exaggeration changes the qualities of the preceding period into as many defects, in emphasis, in strain, in complexity, and issues into the academic and the most pronounced decadence.

The small disc of the coin, of whatever metal, almost never reveals the name of the engraver, who on the other hand often signs his medallic production, inasmuch as on the medal of wider diameter, first cast and then struck, he can display all his art with the greatest refinements. Of the monograms found on the coins, none could be assigned, with any certainty, to the engraver of the die; they are those of the mint-masters and more often of the contractors of the mint, and constitute an element of control of production for the internal use of the coin administration. Martinori speaks of a Corbolini, of a Piermaria da Pescia (under Julius II), of a Serbaldi (under Alexander VI), of an Orfini (under Sixtus IV), to whom are hypothetically attributed, and without any proof, the dies of the famous gold multiples of this period; it is known of Cellini that he must have worked on various dies of Clement VII and Paul III; there is also talk of a Caradosso and of a Camelio who worked under Leo X and signed the medals of the period, but concerning the papal coin everything remains hypothetical, though plausible, even when one wishes to recognize from the style at least a minimal part of their respective coin production.

IV. PARTICULAR TYPES

1. St. Peter; St. Peter and St. Paul. — With the earliest group of Roman issues the various typological series are already under way. Worth remembering are the silver denarii of Pope Adrian I (772-95), which imitate the Beneventan gold solidus not only in their types but also in their summary, schematic art, where the human figure is reduced to a semblance, to a phantom in its frontality, and on the reverse there is a Latin cross on two steps.

From about 800 onward comes the series of silver denarii of the monogrammatic type already mentioned, where the lettering is carefully executed; it is precisely on this series that a bust appears which is called that of St. Peter because of the inscription that extends vertically along its sides, in the Byzantine manner. It seems that the inauguration of this human type — crude, schematic, frontal, in lines and dots — goes back to John VIII (872-82); with Sergius III (905-11) the bust takes on the conical mitre, and alternates with a second bust to be understood as that of the pope. Agapitus II (946-55) places the keys in St. Peter's hand, in addition to the Cross. To the second period of medieval Roman coinage belong the so-called anonymous sampierini of the Roman Senate, which already present the two frontal, nimbed busts of St. Peter and St. Paul on the two faces of the coin. On the gold ducats of the Venetian type, St. Peter standing hands the banner to the kneeling Roman senator: S. PETRUS SENATOR URBIS; while on the other face is the figure of the nimbed and blessing Christ: ROMA CAPUT MUNDI SPQR. Eugenius IV finally, while placing St. Peter standing on the gold ducat, pairs St. Peter and St. Paul on the silver grosso. From this moment, with Nicholas V, Callistus III, Pius II, Paul II, etc., the two standing frontal saints constantly return, easily recognizable by their attributes (sword and book for St. Paul, keys and book for St. Peter). With Julius II they begin to vary their attitude, now they seem to be conversing, now they kiss; now it is only St. Peter seated, now it is the two busts. Significant are the legends: ECCLESIAE FUNDATORI, for St. Peter; DOCTOR GENTIUM, for St. Paul; LUMINARIA VERAE FIDEI - ROMANI PRINCIPES - FUNDATORES ROMANAE ECCLESIAE around both. Paul III prefers and exalts the figure of St. Paul VAS ELECTIONIS, to whom he gives martial poses, while St. Peter appears seated in the act of reading from his open book. With Paul IV also St. Paul he appears standing with the book open. Gregory XIII (1572-85) presents St. Peter, nimbed and standing, with his foot on a stone and the open book resting on his knee, at which he gazes: ET SUPER HANC PETRAM; the figuration is emphatic.

With the end of the 16th century, new types follow one another, and few issues are by then dedicated to these two saints. A testone of Paul V (1605-21) presents a pictorial type; the two saints flank the Blessed Virgin with the divine Son, seated, frontal, on a high base, as is found in many paintings of the period. Urban VIII begins the type of the two saints standing, between whom on high is the rayed dove at which they gaze. Innocent XI (1676-89) presents a silver shield with St. Peter blessing, seated on a stool placed on a predella: ERIT LIGATUM ET IN COELIS; the figuration is very decorative, but not pleasing. Benedict XIV (1740-58) places the Hospital of S. Spirito as the background of the figure of St. Peter: CURABANTUR OMNES; Clement XIII (1758-1769) on a testone places the two saints standing at the sides of a small domed temple, surmounted by a rayed dove. Pius VI and Pius VII have St. Peter with rayed head seated on the clouds. Pius VIII presents them both: ISTI SUSET PATRES TUI VERIQUE PASTORES. Gregory XVI on the gold double writes around St. Peter, seated on a throne and blessing: TU REM TUERE PUBLICAM. The two saints Peter and Paul also appear as protagonists in a few episodic types. On the gold ducat of Paul II (1464-71) appears St. Peter, nimbed and standing (and not the Redeemer, as Serafini says), handing the keys to the Pontiff kneeling before him with the triregnum: ACCIPE CLA(VE) RE(GNI) CELOR(UM). With the greatest care the paving of the floor is marked out in receding squares, the first hint of localization of the scene, which recalls the relief of the sarcophagus of Urban VI in the Vatican Grottoes. With Julius II (1503-1513) appears St. Peter, nimbed and kneeling, receiving the keys from the Redeemer, nimbed and standing before him: ACCIPE CLAVES REGNI CELORUM. The scene is repeated in similar form with Pius V, with the legend PORTAE INFERI NON PREVALEBUNT.

In turn Clement VII (1523-34) presents the angel drawing St. Peter from prison; the angel, with his great wings lowered, moves to the right but turns to look back at Peter, who follows him hesitant and fearful: MEIST DOMINUS ANGELUM BUDA ET LIB(ERAVIT); it alludes to the liberation of the Pope from Castel S. Angelo (Dec. 1527). The scene returns with Gregory XIII: SEQUERE ME. On the testone of Innocent XI St. Peter is about to enter a temple, but turns to lift from the ground a poor cripple, half-naked and imploring: QUOD HABEO TIBI DO. On the silver shield of Innocent XII (1691-1700) is St. Peter, nimbed and standing, who with his right hand raised speaks to the crowds lying at his feet: GRATIA VOBIS ET PAX MULTIPLICETUR; a lively scene in which, however, Peter's oratorical attitude jars. Only two types of Paul V (1605-21) concern St. Paul, and they are on two testoni. With the legend MORTIFERA NON NOCEBUNT, St. Paul, standing, frontal, nimbed, holds up two serpents; at the sides are some figures standing and seated; at his feet is a scorpion. In the exergue the waves of the sea are meant to localize the scene. With the inscription VAS ELECTIONIS, on the other hand, the conversion of St. Paul is depicted, in a few essential elements but evidently inspired by the celebrated painting by Carracci, in the Pinacoteca of Bologna.

One of the characteristic depictions on papal coins is the little ship of St. Peter, NAVIS AETERNAE SALUTIS. It appears first on the gold ducat and the silver grosso of Callixtus III (1455-58): MODICE FIDEI QUARE DUBITATIS. The ship has a crescent-shaped profile with the prow adorned with an acrostolium, sails to the right over waves marked by parallel wavy lines: it is surmounted by a tall Cross, and St. Peter, nimbed and seated at the stern, holds the rudder. The type alludes to the Crusade against the Turks. With Sixtus IV on the Roman ducat there is a significant variant: St. Peter, seated at the prow, draws toward himself with evident effort the heavy net from the rich catch, while around him the waters are somewhat rough. This type reappears with Innocent VIII, Alexander VI, etc.

With Julius II (1503-12) on the gold ducat the little ship receives St. Peter and St. Paul; it has a tall mast and a swollen sail; St. Peter is in the act of pulling the net while St. Paul grips the rudder as an oar. One of the last appearances of this type is that of the testone of Clement VIII: NON PREVALEBUNT. It is a seventeenth-century edition of the old type with St. Peter alone. A new edition of the ship appears on the coins of Pius II; a great galley of semicircular form, with its various parallel elements and much ornamented; the profile of the ship on the front wall leaves visible the figure of the Pontiff with triregnum and cope, seated at the stern, blessing and with a crusader's banner. The Pope is bent forward toward the altar on which is the chalice surmounted by the sacred Host between two candelabra: DIRIGE D(OMINE) OBESSUS N(OST)ROS. It is perhaps the first type that clearly reflects a historical event, the intervention of the Pontiff in the Crusade against Mohammed II. Innocent XI (1676-89) in turn depicts Christ, rayed and standing, on the left on the ship with his disciples in a grandiose figuration on the silver shield: VENTI ET MARE OBEDIUNT EI; here are represented the two consecutive moments of the drama: on the left, where Christ gazes and extends his right hand, the waves have become calm and safe again, while in the right half they are stirred by violent winds that have overwhelmed the sail torn from the mast and submerged a good number of the Apostles; these struggle among the waves and implore the Redeemer.

But the theme of the ship in the storm has been treated more grandly and artistically on three exceptional gold multiples: those of 10 ducats of Sixtus IV (1471-84); of 4 ducats of Paul II (1464-71); of 5 ducats of Alexander VI (1492-1502). The first is the most remarkable, both for its weight and for the fact that it is dated by the Jubilee of 1475. On the obverse, with the legend BIXTUS IIII PONT(IFEX) MAX(IMUS) AN(NO) IOBILEI - PETRE PASCE OVES MEAS, are seen the Redeemer and Peter standing in open countryside shaded by groups of trees where there is a numerous flock; on the reverse, with the inscription DOMINE ADIUNA NOS - MODICE FIDEI QUARE DUBITASTI, is a ship with a great sail on the agitated waves of the sea; inside are the Apostles, and Paul holds the rudder. Outside the ship, among the waves on the right, Christ appears standing on the waters in the act of extending his right hand to the half-submerged St. Peter. On high, from the two opposite sides, two heads of winds blow upon the sail. The multiple of Paul II presents on the obverse, with the legend PAULUS II PONT(IFEX) MAX(IMUS) AN(NO) I - PETRE PASCE OVES MEAS (1464), the Redeemer and Peter standing in open countryside where a flock grazes; on high is the Pope's coat of arms; on the reverse, with the inscription MODICE FIDEI QUARE DUBITASTI, is a ship moving toward the left and the same scene as above. On the edge of the ship is the invocation D(OMINE) ADIUNA NOS. The piece of Alexander VI has on the obverse the inscription ALEXANDER VI PONT(IFEX) MAX(IMUS) BORGIA VALENT and the papal coat of arms surmounted by the triregnum and the keys and supported by two angels who flank it; on the reverse the inscription MODICE FIDEI QUARE DUBITASTI, and again the ship on the agitated sea, and the scene as above.

The three exceptional pieces present an analogous but not identical reverse, in which is easily recognizable the inspiration from the Giotto mosaic known as "della navicella" of the portico of St. Peter's. For the obverse, the same is repeated on two of them, expanded and enriched with details, the type of the well-known ducat of Paul II: PETRUS PASCE OVES MEAS, where the Redeemer, recognizable by the cruciform nimbus and the long mantle, points out to St. Peter 4 little sheep grazing at their feet. The two types, common to two and to all three pieces, show an interdependence determined by the varying stylization of the individual elements and by the varying richness of detail, whence it would follow that the chronology of the three pieces is not that of their respective issuers, but the following: Paul II - Alexander VI - Sixtus IV; a strange fact also as regards their respective artistic value, in any case exceptional for the three multiples. Of the epigraphic element it remains to note that the phrase: PETRE PASCE OVES MEAS appears for the first time on the gold ducat of Paul II already cited, where that artless figuration without any display of landscape shows itself to be a first attempt at an episodic scene and as such has all the freshness of an original artistic creation inspired by faith. The phrase DOMINE ADIUNA NOS will later appear on certain medals of Clement VIII, with the beautiful figuration of the Apostles in the boat in danger from the sudden storm, imploring the sleeping Christ, a type that derives precisely from the multiples now recalled, of which it is a variant. The phrase QUARE DUBITASTI will be inscribed on the giulio of Clement VII beside the episodic type of Christ standing on the surface of the waters who saves St. Peter half submerged by the waters themselves, which is precisely a part of the figuration of these multiple pieces or true and proper medallions.

2. Noah's ark

It appears on the gold double and then on the silver half-scudo of Innocent XII (1691-1700). On the first piece the scene is more complex: the ark is a rectangular hut-like construction covered by a gabled roof, supported by an oval boat; it sails on calm waves from which a small island emerges; from the right a dove appears in flight toward the ark bringing the olive branch: NUNTIA PACIS. On the half-scudo one sees only the ship with the ark with its door open, settling on the mount that has emerged from the pacified waves: FACTUS EST IN PACE.

3. The Veronica

On the gold ducat of Paul II (1464-1471) there appears a standing frontal female figure, veiled and nimbed, who supports with both hands stretched out before her the sudarium with the image of the Divine Face, recognizable by the cruciform nimbus: it is the Veronica in a crude and schematic style and yet impressive.

4. Papal iconography

Already from the primitive period of coinage, on the silver denarius of Pope Adrian I there is a frontal beardless bust with bare head and a crown of hair on the top of the head and with a pontifical mantle, which must be understood as the papal bust.

In the rich group of emissions of monogrammatic type, the antiquiores, there is inserted a beardless bust with hair in a crown and pontifical mantle, which the circular legend allows one to identify as the bust of Pope Sergius III (898-900). This bust alternates with that of St. Peter, likewise duly named. The example will be followed by Benedict VI and others. Boniface VIII (1294-1303) on the silver grosso paparino of the mint of Ponte della Sorga inserts another frontal mitred bust, with a cross clasp and an oblique key in the right hand; the legend reads: DOMINI BO(NIFACI) PAPAE. No intent of iconographic realism, but the pontiff in his trappings and in the insignia of his sacred and secular authority. There follows the silver grosso of Clement V (1395-14) from the same mint, with the half-figure of the pope frontal, with conical mitre, mantle and clasp, oblique cross, blessing; finally John XXII (1316-34) inserts the entire figure of the mitred pope seated frontal on a throne and blessing. The type appears in Rome with the half-grosso of Urban V and the grossi of Boniface IX, Innocent VII, Gregory XII, etc. The figure of the pope is analogous to the figure of the king on the gigliati of Robert, Joanna and René of Anjou and then of the Aragonese gold royals. Martin V and Eugene IV likewise present the same papal type.

But already with Eugene IV the pope's personal coat of arms begins at a certain moment to take up a stable dwelling on the coinage, and then with Sixtus IV (1471-84), on an emission of silver grossi from the Roman mint, the true individual portrait of the Pontiff makes its first appearance: a bust facing left, beardless, with bare head, with a floral stole and oval clasp. The iconographic type is well rendered in its individual details, small nose and small closed mouth, open eye, well-drawn ear; the bust interrupts the circular legend at the bottom, reaching the outer peripheral line of the coin's flan. Julius II in turn places his portrait on various gold and silver denominations; the bust is more developed, turns to the right, the portrait vivid and magnificent in all its individual elements. So do, but on few emissions, with the coat of arms predominating, all his successors with few exceptions (Paul IV, Gregory XV, Alexander VII, Clement IX do not have their portrait on the coins of Rome). Alexander VIII has magnificent and realistic portraits, with bare head, moustaches drooping over the pointed beard; on some pieces he assumes the camauro and mozzetta. Innocent X on the scudo of the Holy Year 1650 presents himself with the triple crown and cope. Pius VI places his portrait on various scudi and half-scudi of Rome; Pius VII on a single scudo.

There are not many episodic types that concern the figure of the pontiff. One of the most eloquent is that of Leo X (1513-21): PETRE ECCE TEMPLUM TUUM: the Pope with mitre and cope kneeling, who presents with both hands a temple to St. Peter seated on a throne before him, perhaps one of the designs of Bramante or of Giuliano da S. Gallo. Clement VII has a more significant type on a gold double ducat, probably a die of Cellini; on the obverse with the inscription: CLEMENS - UT OMNIS TERRA ADORET TE, is the bearded Pope, with tiara and cope, kneeling toward the right, and the emperor Charles V, bearded, with imperial crown and mantle, kneeling to the left, in the act of raising a heavy Cross placed obliquely between them: on the reverse with the legend UNUS SP(IRITU)S ET UNA FIDES ERAT IN EIS, Peter and Paul standing and looking at each other. This ducat is meant to commemorate the peace concluded in June 1529 between the Pope and the emperor.

Pius V is the first pontiff who depicts himself praying and kneeling at the foot of the Cross: ABST NISI IN TE GLORIARI. The type will be repeated by Clement VIII. Urban VIII on a giulio depicts himself kneeling bareheaded before St. Michael who, armed and winged, appears among the clouds with a scales in his left hand: TE MANE TE VESPERE.

Innocent XII (1691-1700) has three episodic figurations; on a broad scudo, in a well-distributed scene, with an effective background and the setting adequately rendered, the Pope appears seated on a throne under the baldachin among guards standing near and behind him, and among prelates, in the assembly of cardinals all seated around the hall: LOQUETUR PACEM GENTIBUS. The scene is given in two variants owing to its different distribution. On a half-scudo Innocent XII appears kneeling with his arms crossed on his breast and leaning on the kneeler, looking up at the rayed dove appearing among the clouds: FIAT PAX IN VIRTUTE TUA. Finally, on a testone, the Pope, with tiara and cope, seated on the podium between two cardinals, listens to the oration ROGATE QUAE AD PACEM SUNT which a priest reads from a pulpit; beside the reader are two trumpeters; it is the same scene as the medal of Clement VIII (1592-1605): IUBILEI INDICTIO.

Finally, Clement XI (1700-21) presents on a magnificent scudo a complex scene designated by the phrase: VOS DE TIRONO; in the architectural background of the interior of the Liberian Basilica the Pontiff, seated on a throne, reads the homily from the book held open by a priest kneeling before him, assisted by cardinals and in the presence of a numerous people. The scene is crowded to the point of implausibility, but it has the realistic character of solemn ceremonies.

5. The Magi

It appears only once, on the gold piece of 2 and a half ducats of Leo X: LUX VERA IN TENEBRIS LUCET. Crowned, with cloaks on their shoulders, they ride toward the left guided by the star shining from on high, at which they gaze. The horses recede from the foreground, so that only the first is fully visible, while of the other two only the hindquarters are seen. Only seven legs are drawn. The three horsemen are equal in height and in posture, and their silhouettes are parallel; they visibly carry the three vessels of the offerings. The composition is naive in its simplicity and in the parallelism of its various elements, and it is believed to allude to the comet that appeared in Europe at the end of 1513, regarded as a good omen for the Pope's reign.

6. The Nativity scene

It appears three times in the 16th century. Leo X inaugurates the type on a mezzo giulio of the mint of Pesaro; a little house like a small temple on three steps, with a triangular pediment, occupies the left side: it is open at the front, from which emerge the heads of the two quadrupeds; above is a star. At the foot of the little house is the Infant Jesus lying on the bedding; before him are the Mother and St. Joseph, bowed and adoring. The naive composition ignores the relationship of dimensions, so that the human figures exceed the little house in height: AD TE PISAURUM.

A second time the Nativity scene appears on the triple giulio of Clement VII that commemorates the opening of the Holy Year, on the day before Christmas: MODIE SALUS FACTA EST. The Divine Child lies at the center on the bedding; toward him converge the heads of the two quadrupeds protruding from a manger; at the sides the Virgin and St. Joseph adore, above shines the star. The larger diameter of the piece and a more artistic conception of the type dictated to the artist a more logical, though simpler, distribution of the scene, which in its simplicity achieves a great effect.

On the testone of Gregory XIII LETAMINI GENTES, perhaps also on the occasion of the opening of the Holy Year, a similar scene returns, schematically drawn.

7. The bust of Christ and the figure of Christ in episodic types

Draped, with long and soft hair falling on his neck and a short pointed beard, the bust of Christ appears initially on the gold scudo of Julius III: VIA VERITAS ET VITA, evidently by the hand of Rossi, of whom there is a medal of Pius V signed with the same bust; the bust returns on a silver piece of the same Pius V: EGO SUM LUX MUNDI and then again on the gold scudi of Gregory XIII and of Sixtus V: BEARE SOLEO AMICOS MEOS.

The episodic types with the figure of Christ are not many. They begin with Julius II, who on the double giulio places the Redeemer handing the keys to St. Peter: ACCIPE CLAVES REGNI CELORUM. This type interprets more adequately and logically the first investiture with the dignity and authority of the papacy, transmitted by Peter to the Pontiff on the doppia of Paul II of which mention has been made. The type seems to be inspired by the painting of Perugino. On a triple silver giulio of Leo X is the scene: DO VOSIS PACEM MEAS; the Redeemer standing with long hair falling on his shoulders, a crossed nimbus and a long mantle, blesses the Apostles, haloed and kneeling. The scene is well rendered and is supposed to allude to the pardon granted by the Pope to the dissident cardinals for the schism of Pisa. To Clement VII is attributed the famous double gold ducat, known only from an impression by Scilla in the Vatican Library: ECCE HOMO - PRO ED UT ME DILIGERENT; Christ standing, half-naked, haloed, with a mantle on his shoulders and his hands bound before his body. The die is said to be by Cellini. Poorly rendered and unclear is the scene of the testone of Paul III, Christ speaking to the Apostles: TU AUTEM IPSE ES. Not much better is that of the Baptism of Jesus on the testone of Gregory XIII: SIC DECET IMPLERE; enclosed in too narrow a field, the figures give the impression of excessive crowding. Better, instead, is the scene of the testone of Pius V: VENITE AD ME OMNES ET EGO REFICIAM VOS, Christ, haloed and standing, is in the act of speaking to three wretchedly dressed individuals prostrate and imploring him; the scene is effective and realistically treated, especially in the poor suppliants; it is then repeated on the testone of Gregory XIII. Also to be remembered is the large silver scudo of Clement XI: VIDERUNT OCULI MEI SALUTARE TUUM, where the Infant Jesus, radiant, is in the arms of Simeon, near whom is the Virgin Mother kneeling, and behind her St. Joseph, a winged angel and an assistant. Finally, on the scudo of Innocent X IN VERBO TUO is the Redeemer, radiant, blessing St. Peter kneeling before him.

8. The Virgin Mother

Paul III (1514-49) inaugurates the type of the Virgin Mother on the silver giulio, with the beautiful group of Mary half-length with the Divine Son: VIRGO TUA GLORIA PARTUS. The type will be repeated by Julius III, Gregory XIII and Clement VIII, by Urban VIII (1623-44), who renders it more artistically on the giulio MONSTRA TE ESSE MATREM, and by Clement X (1670-76) who on the gold scudo SUBLIMIS INTER SIDERA presents the group on the clouds.

Then there is the Virgin with the Divine Son seated frontally between St. Peter and St. Paul on the testone of Paul V (1605-21), a type that evidently repeats one of the many pictorial compositions that in numerous variants are found in the monumental canvases of our 18th-century churches.

Gregory XV inaugurates on various pieces the magnificent figuration of the Immaculate Conception: SUB TUUM PRAESIDIUM; the Virgin standing on the lunar crescent resting on the clouds, hands joined, in an oval of flames with her head in a crown of stars. This figuration prevails for a long time with Urban VIII, Innocent X (UNDE VENIT AUXILIUM MIHI), Alexander VII (VIRGO CONCIPIET); with Clement IX on the quadrupla CANDOR LUCIS AETERNAE and with Clement X on the testone: CUM ME LAUDARENT SIMUL ASTRA MATUTINA. A variant appears with Clement XI on the gold quadrupla: the Virgin stands on the globe and near her is the Divine Son, half-naked, with a radiant head, who drives the cross-bearing lance into the jaws of a dragon stretched out at their feet: CAUSA NOSTRAE LAETTIAE, and with Benedict XIV: MACULA NON EST IN TE - TOTA PULCHRA ES.

Innocent XI in turn (1676-89) presents on the quadrupla the Virgin assumed into heaven among the clouds, radiant, frontal, with a crown of 7 stars around her head: below her the rainbow and clouds: FUNDA NOS IN PACE. On another quadrupla and on a testone there is a pictorial type: the Virgin with the Divine Son seated on a throne, frontal, at whose feet are kneeling and praying St. Augustine, St. Francis, St. Lawrence and St. Stephen.

Clement XI finally, on a silver scudo, places the Virgin of S. Maria in Trastevere, haloed and crowned, seated, frontal, on a throne, with the Divine Son on her knees and with the four-armed Cross in her right hand. Two great angels stand at the sides of the throne; at the feet of the Virgin kneels the pontiff Innocent II: DILEXI DECOREM DOMUS TUAE. The church was in fact restored by Clement XI.

9. Biblical scenes

They are few and are found on the coins of Gregory XIII (1562-85), Clement X (1670-1676), Innocent XII (1691-1700).

Gregory XIII on the testone SIC EXALTATUS SANAT presents at the center of the scene a column surmounted by the winged dragon, the heraldic animal of his coat of arms; on the left is the tall figure of Moses, who touches it with a rod and points it out to the crowd that appears at the foot of the column itself, lying or seated. On a second testone: SIGNA INFIDELIBUS is the figure of Moses, radiate and cloaked, kneeling toward the left, who places on the ground a pliant rod that ends with the figure of the winged dragon, and looks toward the Eternal Father, whose bust emerges from the clouds above. In turn Clement X (1670-76) places on the gold quadrupla and on the silver testone the inspired figure of King David, crowned and bearded, draped, seated and playing the
cithara: NE PROFICIAS ME IN TEMPORE SENECTUTIS.

On the silver scudo of Innocent XII (1691-1700):
EGREDIATUR POPULUS ET COLLIGAT, are the Hebrews in the desert gathering the manna. The scene, a little trite,
is animated and interesting in the variety of its constituent
elements: in the foreground and middle ground men, women and
children, lying or seated, show the joyful surprise
of the event; in the middle ground at the upper right are the
clouds from which the manna rains, on the left other clouds
advance to darken the sky; in the background at the center is the
view of the camp. On a half-scudo of the
same: PARATE VIAM DOMINI, is presented the scene
of St. John the Baptist who, standing, preaches to the crowds seated
on the slopes of a mountain. The half-nude, powerful
and energetic figure of John, who supports in his right hand the
labarum and has his left extended in an oratorical gesture, stands out
among the crowd of bearded and cloaked old men who are
listening. To be remembered also is a scudo of Gregory XVI: LUMEN AD REVELATIONEM GENTIUM, with the
old Simeon who takes in his arms the Child
presented to him by the Mother; beside them are St. Joseph with
the basket of the two doves and the old Anna.

10. Saints and blesseds

They are few and, with some
exceptions, appear only from the 17th century onward, and therefore
in that cold, academic and emphatic style that characterizes the decadent art of that period.

Sixtus V (1585-90) inaugurates on the silver scudo the
figuration of St. Francis of Assisi, who, nimbed and kneeling, with arms outstretched, is in the act of receiving the stigmata from rays that issue from a Crucifix suspended
above. Before the Saint is traced a rocky
landscape; behind him rises a great leafy tree that
shades him: IN TE SIGNUM NOSTRAE REDEMPTIONIS - IN
TE SITTO; the scene, magnificent in religious and emotional
feeling, still presents in the landscape the setting of the prodigy.
On a doppia of Clement XI (1700-21) is found a
variant of the same theme: St. Francis, kneeling
before a small Crucifix and a book placed on the
rock, looks upward with open arms at a seraphim from which the rays of the stigmata depart. This figuration is even more intimate and moving.

St. Michael is introduced into the typology in some
variants by Urban VIII (1623-44) on the gold quadrupla;
he is armed and winged, now set on the ground, now suspended in the air,
now with the crossed shield, and pierces Lucifer with his lance.
The latter, with bat wings, horned head, bestial face,
serpentine tail, writhes at the feet of the Saint, whom he tries to
escape: VIVIT DEUS. Elsewhere on the silver scudi: TE MANE
TE VESPERE, on the plane of the scene are three other demons
that try to rise from the flames that envelop them. On
another scudo the scene is simpler and more intimate: the Pontiff kneeling looks at St. Michael who, armed, with the
balance, appears among the clouds above. A more
complex variant appears on the scudo of Innocent XII (1691-
1700) where St. Michael, winged and in flight, strikes down Satan
crouched at his feet among the flames.

Alexander VII (1655-67) on a scudo DISPERSIT
DEDIT PAUPERIBUS places St. Thomas of Villanova (canonized
by him on 1 November 1658) giving alms to a
poor cripple. Clement X (1670-76) brings into the typology St. Venantius, standing frontally, nimbed, with the
cross-bearing banner and a small city; then Pius V in a poorly
constructed scene, again presents the Saint kneeling before the Crucifix placed on the altar, while he turns back
to look at an angel who, in flight, presents to him a
cloth on which is painted the battle of Lepanto. Innocent XI (1676-89) introduces St. Matthew, in two variants,
now seated on a chair, now seated on the clouds with the book
open but looking at an angel in flight who seems to
speak to him. The two variants are analogous in the emphatic
attitude of the Saint, in the exaggerated torsion of the body,
in the too ample and abundant scoring of the garments;
here too art has betrayed the concept, translating it with
emphasis and above all with the absolute lack of intimacy
and of religious inspiration. Alexander VIII presents in turn St. Magnus bishop and St. Bruno anchorite;
Clement XI St. Frances of Rome, and then St. Clement, who appears in two variants: seated on the clouds with the
palm and the anchor: DOMINUS ELECIT TE HODIE; or
kneeling before the lamb that lies dead on a high
rock: DONA NOBIS PACEM; then St. Crescentinus at a gallop
with helmet and cuirass piercing the dragon: finally the guardian
angel who in flight leads by the hand a child to whom
he points out the radiant sky among the clouds. Clement XII presents St. Andrew Orsini, kneeling, in pontifical
vestments, before whom is a half-nude angel with a miter: GENUS
ALTO A SANGUINE. On the testone of Pius VIII is found St. Esuperantius and St. Sperandia, both standing; and on the half-scudo of Gregory XVI St. Romuald kneeling with
the Crucifix before a rock on which are a skull
and the staff. The scene is shaded by trees.

11. Architectural monuments and panoramic views

Apart from the giuli of Leo X for the marca of Ancona, on
which appears a figuration in two variants, of a
domed temple flanked by two bell towers (perhaps
the Vatican Basilica) and on the reverse the Pontiff kneeling
presenting to St. Peter the temple itself, but without
bell towers: PETRE ECCE TEMPLUM TUUM (and the gold scudo
of Pius V from the mint of Avignon, with the view of Avignon as a bird's-eye view), it seems that Clement VIII
(1592-1605) was the first to have recourse to architectural
types; on his gold scudo is the facade of the lateral entrance of the
Lateran Basilica with two bell towers at the sides, between
which are the busts of St. Peter and St. Paul, looking:
GLORIOSI PRINCIPES ROMA; the intention is to commemorate the works
carried out by the Pontiff in the transept of the
Basilica. The figuration is extremely schematic.

With Clement X and his successors, the large scudi and half-scudi of silver provided the engraver with a field better suited to complex figurations that recall the respective benefactions in construction and reconstruction. Clement X (1670-76) depicts the port of Civitavecchia with the arsenal and the fortress, and in the expanse of water great sailing ships: UT ABUNDETIS MAGIS; the type is highly effective and alludes to the circumstance that the Pope made it a free port. Innocent XI presents the facade of the Vatican Basilica dominated by the dome: PORTAE INFERI NON PRAEVALEBUNT. Innocent XII (1691-1700) the port of Anzio: VENTI ET MARE OBEDIUNT EI, in memory of the works he had carried out there, and on the gold quadrupla of 1694 (DAT OMNIBUS AFFLUENTER) the fountain of the piazza of S. Maria in Trastevere, rebuilt by the Pope. Clement XI (1700-21) has the obelisk and the fountain of the Piazza del Pantheon: PONTIS ET FORI ORNAMENTO (in another figuration framed by the surrounding palaces on three sides); the round church of S. Teodoro al Palatino: IN HONOREM S. THEODORI MAR(TIRIS); the two-storey viaduct of the bridge of Civitacastellana against the background of the city and the landscape PROSPERUM ITER PACIET - NONS CIVIT(ATIS) CASTELLANAE; the panoramic view of Urbino, his native city, with its most characteristic monuments and with the viaduct in front: CIVITAS URBINI; the facade of the Ducal Palace of Urbino on its two longer sides: RESTITUISTI MAGNIFICENTIAM; the Pantheon standing isolated with its two bell towers: DILEXI DECOREM DOMUS TUAE; the port of Ripetta on the Tiber with the street and the churches of S. Rocco and S. Girolamo, and in the foreground the personifications of the Tiber and the Aniene reclining: LAETIFICAT CIVITATEM; the outline of the Capitoline Palaces as a background to the personifications of painting, sculpture and architecture: DIGNIS VICTORIAM. Clement XII lastly, on a half-scudo, places the facade of the church of S. Giovanni dei Fiorentini in Rome: DECUS PATRIAE, etc. More numerous, however, are the architectural types portrayed on the annual papal medals.

12. Personifications of abstract concepts. Allegories. - They are not many and all date from the second half of the 16th century; they can be divided into two groups: the first of personifications that imitate classical Roman types; the second of personifications created ex novo.

To the first belong the following types of Julius III (1550-55): Rome, in Amazonian form, seated on the seven hills with the crown in her outstretched right hand: OMNIA TUTAS VIDES; CONCORDIA - ALMA ROMA, a seated female figure before an altar with a patera and a double cornucopia; MELIORE MANENT, a female figure of Rome-Minerva wearing a helmet, standing with a spear and shield and with her foot on a helmet. To the second belong the following types of Gregory XIII: AGGREGATA RELIGIO, a seated female figure with keys, who with her right arm embraces a complex structure with a triangular pediment and a dome; NON APPARENTIUM EST FIDES, a seated female figure facing front with the chalice and a long Cross; NUNQUAM DEFICIET, a standing female figure facing front, leaning on a long Cross with the triregnum and the keys in her left hand: it is the Church; IUSTITIA RESURGENS, a female figure facing front with a drawn sword and scales; SEMPER OPERIBUS AUCTA, a female figure with a chalice and a long Cross; UT NON DEFICIAT - NUNQUAM DEFICIET, a standing female figure who supports the triregnum with her right hand and the keys with her left.

Sixtus V (1585-90), after having repeated the various preceding types, introduces SECURITAS PAUPERUM, a seated female figure before a lighted altar adorned with the keys and the triregnum, against which rests a lighted torch; a revival of the classical type of SECURITAS of Nero. Clement VII presents the group IUSTITIA PAX DEOSCULATAE SUNT, the first with sword and scales, the second with the little branch, in the act of kissing each other. Clement X (1670-76) has Clementia and Liberalitas of the classical scheme, but in the style of the age, academic and cold: CLEMENTIA MALUM MINUIT - LIBERALITAS BONUM AUGET. Alexander VIII (1689-1691) with the legend LEGIONE AD BELLUM SACRUM INSTRUCTA presents a standing female figure with the triregnum on her head, a temple on her right, and in her left the Roman legionary standard but surmounted by the two-headed eagle, which is that of the papal coat of arms. Innocent XII (1692-1700) with COGITO COGITATIONES PACIS has a veiled female figure, seated and leaning against an altar surmounted by the triregnum surrounded by two laurel branches, and looking at a Cross which she supports with her left hand: at her feet are scattered some weapons; with NOVIT IUSTUS CAUSAM PAUPERUM there is a seated female figure, Caritas, with a child at her breast and two others at her sides, a reminiscence of late Roman Pietas; with OPUS IUSTITIAE PAX there is a standing female figure facing front, half-nude, with a little branch in her raised right hand and her left arm resting on a large sword; finally with EGENO ET PAUPERI she has a similar draped female figure with a flame on her head, who empties the cornucopia onto the ground, with the theatrical gesture of the Roman prototype of Ubertas.

Clement XI (1700-21) on the quadrupla and on the testone A DEO ET PRO DEO, places a draped female figure, standing, facing front, with a child in her arms and two naked little genii standing at her sides who pour onto the ground the contents of two cornucopias. Clement XII with FOEDUS EST INTER ME ET TE presents Justice and Abundance seated, clasping right hands. Benedict XIV has the type of the Church seated on the clouds with her head rayed and in her hands the keys and a little temple. Clement XIII gives a variant of it with the piece SUPRA FIRMAM PETRAM, a type repeated by Clement XIV: FIAT PAX IN VIRTUTE TUA, and by Pius VI: AUXILIUM DE SANCTO, while Leo XII has the Church seated on a throne with a long Cross, with chalice and staff: SUPRA FIRMAM PETRAM - POPULIS EXPIATIS. It is easy to see from this brief survey that all the personifications repeat statuary types dear to the academic art of 18th-and 19th-century Italy.

13. Varia

Still to be briefly mentioned are types of various kinds that do not fall within the categories considered thus far.

With Leo X (1513-21) there is the beautiful figuration, of classical reminiscence and allusive to his name and his house, of the walking lion that rests its right paw on a globe; often a Victory flies above it in the act of crowning it. On the testone of Paul III: APTO PRAECURRE PLEMI is a charioteer in a galloping quadriga, also of classical inspiration. Julius III (1550-55) writes PROVIDENTIA around a square altar adorned with a patera and a lituus, a revival of a well-known and common Roman type. Clement VIII (1592-1605) introduces on the gold scudo the dove settled on the ground with its wings raised: UNA EST COLUMBA MEA. Alexander VII (1655-67) places on the testone NEC CITRA NEC ULTRA an arm that holds a pair of scales in its hand; and then on the quadrupla HAEC AUTEM QUAE

PARASTI CUIUS ERUNT a reinforced chest with its lid raised, in which are sacks of coins; on the giulio, CRESCENTEM SEQUITUR CURA PECUNIAM, a table covered with a cloth on which is a large heap of coins. A similar type appears on the testone of Clement XI: IMPERAT AUT SERVIT. Alexander VIII (1689-91), on the quadrupla RE FRUMENTARIA RESTITUTA, has two oxen yoked to a plough moving to the right, the whole framed between two tall ears of grain, with a beautiful and evocative figuration of country life. On the doppia VECTIGALIBUS REMISSIS he places a large garlanded altar on which lie two sheep holding a large laurel crown between their jaws; a decorative and cold type. On the scudo SPLENDET A MAIESTATE EIUS Clement IX (1667-69) places the chair of St. Peter, which repeats the outline of the ivory chair now contained in Bernini's shrine. The latter then appears on the silver scudo of Innocent XII: SEDEBIT IN PULCHRITUDINE PACIS. Beside a handful of ears of grain on a gold scudo Innocent XII (1691-1700) writes DET DEUS DE COELO, and beside the sunflower of another scudo: TRAHE ME POST TE; beside the pelican that opens its breast with its beak: NON SIBI SED ALIIS; and beside the eagle crouching over three eaglets TEGIT ET PROTEGIT: finally on a giulio with a bombardier standing beside the cannon that fires: BELLUM CONTERAM DE TERRA. Clement XI (1700-21) on the gold scudo: CONFREGIT POTENTIAS ARCUUM places a broken taut bow with the arrow nocked; on another scudo FIAT PAX is an olive tree; and with FIXA MANEBIT is the anchor set vertically on the surface of the stormy sea; on the half gold scudo UMBRA IN LUCEM, is a radiant star high above the agitated sea. Innocent XIII has a figuration inspired by country life on the half silver scudo CUM EXULTATIONE: a field rich with ripe grain; in the background a half-nude male figure moves away with the sheaf in his arms; in the center in the foreground another half-nude figure reaps the ripe ears with a sickle while at his feet are bound sheaves. Pius VI finally pairs with St. Peter on the clouds (APOSTOLORUM PRINCES) a lily with various open flowers: FLORET IN DOMO DOMINI.

14. Inscribed cartouches

It seems that it was Alexander VII Chigi (1655-67) who began the practice of placing on his gold doppie those legends so significant and full of the highest Christian-moral teaching, which above all tend to moralize the use of money and of wealth in general. These legends became, shortly afterward, the preferred theme of coins, the epigraphic type due to true calligraphers, who came to replace the artist engraver of the die, so that the coin, having lost its artistic interest, took on that of a means of moralizing society. This type, consisting of an epigraph that sums up and summarizes a thought and a teaching, is usually contained in a wreath or more often in a cartouche, which takes on the most varied outlines, dictated by innovative spirits. Moreover, papal coats of arms had already modified the peripheral outline almost with every issue.

Alexander VII (1655-67) on the gold double ducat writes in a cartouche in 4 lines, between two laurel branches, NON EX TRISTITIA AUT EX NECESSITATE, and on the grosso and half grosso of silver HILAREM DATOREM DILIGIT DEUS - TEMPERATO SPLENDEAT USU. Innocent XI (1676-89) already imposes numerous inscriptions on the quadruple, on the doppie, on the gold scudo and on the scudi and half scudi of silver, on the very numerous testoni and on the giuli. Innocent XII (1691-1700) inscribes on the testoni and on the giuli: NOLI AMARE NE PERDAS - NON SIT TECUM IN PERDITIONEM - PRAEOCCUPEMUS PACIEM EIUS - TAMQUAM LUTUM AESTIMABITUR - QUI MISERETUR BEATUS ERIT - ROGATE EA QUAE AD PACEM SUNT - ELEVAT PAUPEREM - NE OBLIVISCARIS PAUPERUM - PECCATA ELEMOSYNIS REDINE - QUI VIDET TE REDDET TIBI - DA PAUPERI. Clement XI (1700-21) has numerous exhortations on the doppie, on the gold scudi and on the scudi, all concerning the use and abuse of money, the hunger for gold and its harms, the duty to help the poor and to turn wealth into good works. Innocent XIII, Benedict XIII, Clement XII, Benedict XIV and Clement XIII adopt still others similar in meaning.

15. Sede vacante and Holy Year

The series of sede vacante coins consists of those minted in Rome and in some local papal mint during the intervals between the death of a pope and the appointment of his successor, beginning with the vacancy of 1521. They are series consisting of few pieces, usually of silver, more or less rare according to the duration of the vacancy. On the obverse of each piece is the coat of arms of the cardinal camerlengo surmounted by the crossed, bound keys and by the pavilion; on the reverse are types usually imitated from the immediately preceding period. The most numerous series are those of the sede vacante of 1655, which lasted three months, for which quadruple and double gold coins, scudi, testoni, giuli, etc. of silver were minted; those of 1677, for which there are gold and silver scudi, testoni and giuli; those of 1669 (quadruple, doppie, gold scudi, and almost all silver denominations); of 1689 (gold quadruple, silver scudi and testoni), and so on. From the sede vacante of 1730 onward there are gold zecchini, silver scudi, etc.

The series of Holy Years, after the institution in 1500 by Alexander VI of the Holy, or golden, Door, presents among the most frequent types the ceremonies then begun of the opening or the closing of the Door. The most common coins usually bear the date with the legend ANNO TURILAEI, and the type of the Holy Door, closed, variously adorned with the Cross, the sudarium, angels, etc., whereas the episodic types that depict the ceremonies have been reserved either for medals or for the large silver scudi. Large quantities of coins were on such occasions minted in various metals, and in all denominations, by every pontiff; thus Clement VII (1525) minted a piece of 10 gold ducats, the triple giulio, etc.; Julius III (1550) gold scudi, testoni, giuli, grossi, etc. in silver; Gregory XIII (1575), and Clement VIII (1600), only silver; Urban VIII (1625), Innocent X, Clement X, etc. gold scudi and doppie, silver scudi, etc.; and so the successors down to Pius VI (1775), who minted only the giulio and the silver grosso. - See plates CXXVI-CXXVIII.

Secondina Lorenza Cesano