NUMISMATICA DI ROMA PAPALE

PAPAL ROME NUMISMATICS. — Within the framework of the coinage of the Italian peninsula from the fall of the Roman Empire to the present day, the coinage of Papal Rome constitutes one of the longest-lasting groups, with the richest emissions, the most varied types, and the most interesting pieces from every point of view, of all the series 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 other Italian and foreign mints (gold, silver, billon, bronze), according to the periods and the monetary series themselves.

1. Gold

It seems that the Senate of Rome around 1350 established the ducat or Roman florin (imitated from the Venetian zecchino), whose emission was definitively suspended a century later by Eugenius IV (1431–47) to replace it with his own ducat, which inaugurates the true papal gold series of Rome. But already before this, Pope John XXII, around 1323, had struck in the mint of Ponte della Sorga the first gold florin of Florentine imitation, whose emission continued under his immediate successors, Clement VI, Urban V, etc. Paul II (1464–72), alongside the papal ducat, struck the florin or camera ducat, which was replaced by Paul III (1534–49) with the gold scudi. With Alexander VI (1472–1503), the first double camera ducat appeared, struck again by Julius II, Leo X, Adrian VI, Clement VII, and Paul III. Under Paul V (1605–21), double and quadruple gold pieces were struck, along with the scudo, by Clement IX and X, Innocent XI, Alexander VIII, and Clement XI. Under Benedict XIII (1724–30), the double zecchino, the zecchino, and half and quarter zecchini were added.

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 double pieces resumed. Gregory XVI struck pieces of 10 scudi, 5 scudi, 2½ scudi, and 2 scudi; finally, from 1866 to 1870, the second coinage of Pius IX, on a decimal system, included gold pieces of 100, 50, 20, 10, and 5 lire.

2. Silver

The first coinage of Papal Rome was in silver, represented by the denarii of Hadrian 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 reigning emperor; they bear the sigla of the names from Stephen V to Benedict VII, coupled with the sigla of the names of the emperors from Louis I to Otto III. After a gap of about two centuries, silver coinage resumed in Rome with Celestine V, but in the name of the Roman Senate (1184–1439); these are the *grossi* and half *grossi*, first anonymous, then bearing the names of the Roman senators Brancaleone d'Andalò and Charles I of Anjou, and later the coats of arms of the families Caetani, Orsini, Colonna, Savelli, Annibaldi, Stefaneschi, down to about the mid-14th century. At the same time, the so-called anonymous *sampierini* of the Roman Senate were struck. During the Avignonese exile, from Boniface VIII to Urban V, mints in Italy, in the name of the pope, operated at Ponte della Sorga, Viterbo, Macerata, and perhaps also Parma; and in France at Avignon. The activity of the mint of Rome resumed with Urban V, with half *grossi* and Bolognese silver coins, which continued under Gregory XI, Boniface IX, and Gregory XII; this coinage became regular under Martin V Colonna, Eugenius IV, etc. Julius II struck the *giuli*; Leo X also struck the triple and double *giuli*; Paul III the *testone*, the *paolo*, and the half *paolo*; Sixtus V the *piastra*.

From Urban VIII to Gregory XVI, scudi and *testoni* represented the silver coinage, with lower denominations. The first Republic and the Napoleonic occupation struck scudi and half scudi, and Napoleon, as Emperor and King of Italy, struck the franc and the five-franc piece. The first coinage of Pius IX (1846–66) consisted of scudi, half scudi, double *giuli*, and *giuli*; and the second (1866–1870) of 5-lire pieces and lower denominations.

3. Billon and copper

Beginning with the *provisini* of the Roman Senate (ca. 1184–1439), a large quantity of the fractional coinage of Rome, of minimal real value and with a primarily forced circulation, was struck in billon, a varied alloy of silver and copper. Thus the deniers or *cinquine*, the small coins of the Roman Senate from the mint of Rome (cross and lion), the *provisini* deniers of the Roman Senate (1184–1250; 1300–1404); the small coins of Benedict XI, John XXII, Benedict XII, from local mints; the double deniers and obols of Urban V; the small coins of Nicholas V, Callixtus III, Pius II, Paul II; and again the *quattrini* of Leo X, Clement VII, Paul III, etc.; the *muratorie* of Alexander VIII, the 4-baiocchi, 2-baiocchi, and baiocco pieces of Clement XII and Benedict XIV, etc.; the *carlini* and *muratorie* of Clement XIV, the 60-baiocchi, 25-baiocchi, and baiocco pieces of Pius VI. Copper was preferably used for the lower denominations of the local papal mints, which were especially active in the 17th and 18th centuries, beginning with the double four of Alexander VI to the half baiocco of Paul V. Copper pieces include the *quattrini* of Paul V, Gregory XV, Urban VIII, Alexander VII; the *quattrini* and half baiocchi struck by almost all subsequent popes, down to the *madonnine* of five baiocchi and the *sampietrini* of 2½ baiocchi and baiocchi of Pius VI and VII, Gregory XVI, and Pius IX.

II. LOCAL PAPAL MINT

In addition to the mint of Rome, other mints operated in the Papal States in varying numbers, more or less actively, and even intermittently depending on the period.

Already in the 13th and 14th centuries, coins were struck at Viterbo and the Patrimony of St. Peter, and during the Avignonese captivity, besides Avignon, at Ponte della Sorga, and later at Macerata, Parma, and Bologna.

Papal Rome Numismatics — Roman zecchino of Venetian type — Vatican Medallion Collection.

Avignon is the mint that struck an almost uninterrupted series of emissions beginning with Boniface IX (1380–1404) throughout the 15th and 16th centuries until at least Alexander VII, and then under Innocent XII (1691–1700). Bologna, even more continuously and in a rich uninterrupted series in all three metals, struck 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 under Julius II Perugia, and under Leo X Pesaro, Ravenna, Modena, Parma, Piacenza, Reggio, Camerino, Fabriano, etc. Under Alexander VI and Julius II, there were at least 9 and then 7 mints operating; under Leo X, 14; under Clement VIII, 4; from Paul V to Alexander VII, it seems only 3 were active (Ferrara, Bologna, Avignon); from Innocent XI to Clement XII, only 2 (Bologna and Ferrara); under Clement XIV, intermittently also Gubbio and Ravenna; then under Leo XII, Gregory XVI, and Pius IX, only Bologna remained. 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 development and typology of the enormous mass of coins in the three metals struck by the mint of Papal Rome for at least thirteen centuries—and which circulated for an equal length of time across the peninsula—follow only to a minimal extent the general typological trends of the other major Italian series.

AVIGNONESE, of the pope seated frontally on a throne with tiara and pipe while blessing, paired with the type of the two keys bound together, symbol of St. Peter and of his power in the kingdom of heaven. This period is also called one of reconciliation between the two authorities, the papal and the senatorial or that of the people of Rome. With Eugenius IV the coin finally assumes an exclusively papal character; the coat of arms of the pontiff or of his family, hitherto imposed on the coin only as an accessory to the reverse type (usually the two keys crossed and bound), becomes the very type of the coin itself, to which is joined the figure of St. Peter or of St. Paul, or of both, standing, frontally, with their respective attributes. The same typology is presented by the subsequent popes Nicholas V, Calixtus III, Paul II, etc., while the new type of St. Peter’s little ship and some episodic scenes begin to appear. With Julius II the first portrait of the reigning pope appears on the coin, which will be presented constantly by each of his successors, albeit only on the most important and significant issues. With Leo X more numerous episodic types and some emblematic types are inserted, with Julius II the first personifications (Rome-Concordia). Paul III presents St. Peter seated on a throne with a triregnum. Sixtus V begins, with St. Francis, the not very extensive series of saints. With Clement VIII, Paul V, etc., the large silver shields 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 widely exploited by his successors throughout the 18th century; even the copper, abundantly coined by Benedict XIV, bears inscribed in a crown or cartouche the denomination of the denomination it represents (1 baiocco romano, mezzo baiocco, etc.). The typology of the popes of the 18th century is limited to a few, the most common types; already scarce 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 only discerned in their general lines and in an expression reduced to the bare minimum. In the early Middle Ages the coin reflects in its types of imitation the artistic environment in which it is produced, in every formal element, that is, in the treatment of the types with dots and lines, in the most absolute schematism, in the fixed frontal position of the figures, in the rigidity of their attitudes, in the complete lack of expression and individuality, so that only by the accessories and the legends is it possible to identify them.

But once the millennium has passed and we have entered the late Italian Middle Ages, little by little the frontal position of the human body is softened by the slight lateral movement of the head; the corporeality of the figures is accentuated, the arms detach from the body, the legs assume different positions to suggest movement, to determine a more normal weighting, the drapery softens into folds where light and shadow return to insinuate themselves and to emphasize the forms; thus the whole figure seems to move in an action, and assumes attitudes ever more natural and responsive to the conception of the 16th-century engraver. Finally, the details of the environment itself are emphasized: the waves of the sea beneath the ship, the pavement beneath the figures of the scene, etc. Then, in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, when the diameter of the large silver shield allows it, the law of proportions returns to prevail and dominate, with a depiction of realistic scenes and of various genres, in the most varied settings, with rich environmental details: churches and palaces, fountains, bridges and viaducts, backgrounds and panoramic views, etc. Then, in the advanced 17th century, the coin reflects the age, where exaggeration transforms the qualities of the preceding period into as many defects, in emphasis, in effort, in complexity, and culminates in the academic and in the most pronounced decadence.

The small disc of the coin, whatever the metal, almost never reveals the name of the engraver, who, by contrast, often signs his medallic production, since on the medal, of larger diameter, first cast and then struck, he can display all his art with the greatest refinements. Of the initials found on coins, none has been assigned, with any certainty, to the die-engraver; they are those of mint officials and more often of contractors of the mint, and constitute an element of control of production for internal use by the administration of the coin. Martino 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, and without any proof, attributed the dies of the famous gold multiples of this period; it is known that Cellini must have worked on various dies for Clement VII and Paul III; mention is also made of a Caradossio and a Camello who worked under Leo X and signed the medals of the period, but as regards papal coinage everything remains hypothetical, albeit plausible, even when one wishes to recognize from the style at least a minimal part of their respective monetary production.

IV. PARTICULAR TYPES

I. St. Peter; St. Peter and St. Paul. — With the earliest group of Roman issues, the various typological series are already begun. Worth noting are the silver denarii of Pope Adrian I (772–95) that imitate the Beneventan gold soldo not only in type but also in the summary, schematic art, where the human figure is reduced to a semblance, a phantom in its frontality, and on the reverse is a Latin cross on two steps.

From around 800 onwards is the series of silver denarii with monogrammatic type already mentioned, where the lettering is carefully executed; it is on this series that a bust appears which is called that of St. Peter from the inscription that runs vertically beside it, in the Byzantine manner. It seems that the inauguration of this crude, schematic, frontal human type, with lines and dots, dates to John VIII (872–82); with Sergius III (905–11) the bust assumes the conical mitre, and alternates with a second bust to be understood as that of the pope. Agapetus II (946–95) places in the hand of St. Peter the keys, in addition to the cross. The so-called anonymous sampierini of the Roman Senate belong to the second period of medieval Roman coinage; they already present the two nimbate frontal busts of St. Peter and St. Paul on the two sides of the coin. On the Venetian-style gold ducats St. Peter standing delivers the banner to the kneeling Roman senator: *S. Petrus Senator urbis*; while on the other side is the figure of the nimbate 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 point, with Nicholas V, Calixtus III, Pius II, Paul II, etc., the two standing saints frontally return constantly, 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 posture: now they seem in conversation, now they kiss; now it is St. Peter seated alone, 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 which he gives martial poses, while St. Peter appears seated in the act of reading from his open book. With Paul IV, too, St. Paul

Papal Roman Numismatics – Gold multiple of Paul II. Vatican Medagliere.

He stands with an open book. Gregory XIII (1572–85) depicts St Peter nimbed and standing, with one foot on a stone and an open book resting on the knee on which he gazes: ET SUPER HANC PETRAM; the rendering is emphatic.

By the close of the 16th century new types follow in succession, and few emissions are now devoted to these two saints. A testone of Paul V (1605–21) presents a pictorial type: the two saints flank the Virgin with the divine Child, seated frontally on a high pedestal, as is found in many paintings of the period. Urban VIII inaugurates the type of the two saints standing, between whom at the top is the dove of the Holy Spirit to which they look. Innocent XI (1676–89) shows a silver escudo with St Peter blessing seated on a stool placed on a predella: ERIT LIGATUM ET IN COELIS; the rendering is highly decorative but not pleasing. Benedict XIV (1740–58) places behind the figure of St Peter the hospital of Santo Spirito: CURABANTUR OMNES. Clement XIII (1758–69) on a testone shows the two saints standing on either side of a small domed temple surmounted by the dove of the Holy Spirit. Pius VI and Pius VII depict St Peter with a nimbus seated on clouds. Pius VIII presents them both: ISTI SUNT PATRES TUI VERIQUE PASTORES. Gregory XVI on the double gold ducat 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 (not the Redeemer, as Serafini claims) handing the keys to the kneeling Pope with the triregnum: ACCIPE CLAVES (VES) RE (GNI) CELORUM. With the utmost care the pavement is marked with receding squares, the first hint of a localised setting recalling the relief on the sarcophagus of Urban VI in the Vatican Grotto. With Julius II (1503–13) appears St Peter nimbed and kneeling as he receives the keys from the standing nimbed Redeemer before him: ACCIPE CLAVES REGNI CELORUM. The scene recurs in similar form with Pius V, with the legend PORTAE INFERI NON PREVALEBUNT.

Clement VII (1523–34) in turn presents the angel delivering St Peter from prison; the angel, with great wings lowered, moves to the right but turns to look back at Peter who follows hesitantly and fearfully: MISIT DOMINUS ANGELUM SUUM ET LIBERAVIT; it alludes to the Pope’s liberation from Castel Sant’Angelo (December 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 half-naked lame beggar imploring him: QUOD HABEO TIBI DO. On the silver escudo 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 orant posture is incongruous. Only two types of Paul V (1605–21) concern St Paul, and these are on two testoni. With the legend MORTIFERA NON NOCEBUNT St Paul stands frontally nimbed holding two serpents; at the sides are some standing and seated figures; at his feet is a scorpion. The waves of the sea are intended to localise the scene. With the inscription VAS ELECTIONIS is instead depicted the conversion of St Paul, rendered in a few essential elements but clearly inspired by the famous 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 first appears on the gold ducat and the silver grosso of Calixtus III (1455–58): MODICE FIDEI QUARE DUBITATIS. The vessel has a crescent-shaped hull with the prow adorned by an acrostolium, sailing to the right on waves marked by parallel wavy lines; it is surmounted by a tall cross, and St Peter nimbed seated at the stern holds the tiller. 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 pulls with evident effort a heavy net laden with a rich catch, while inside the waters are slightly disturbed. This type recurs with Innocent VIII, Alexander VI and others.

With Julius II (1503–12) on the gold ducat the little ship carries St Peter and St Paul; it has a tall mast and full sail; St Peter is in the act of hauling the net while St Paul grasps the steering oar. One of the last appearances of this type is on the testone of Clement VIII: NON PREVALEBUNT. It is a 17th-century reissue of the old type with St Peter alone. A new edition of the ship appears on the coins of Pius II; a large galley of semicircular shape, with various parallel elements and very ornate; the outline of the ship on the front wall leaves visible the figure of the Pope with triregnum and pavilion, seated at the stern blessing and holding a cross-flag. The Pope leans forward toward the altar on which is the chalice surmounted by the sacred Host between two candlesticks: DIRIGE DOMINE GRESSUS MEOS. It is perhaps the first type clearly reflecting a historical event, the Pope’s intervention in the crusade against Mehmed II. Innocent XI (1676–89) in turn depicts Christ radiant standing to the left on the ship with His disciples in a grand composition on the silver escudo: VENTI ET MARE OBEDIUNT EI; here are represented the two successive moments of the drama: to the left, where Christ looks and stretches out His right hand, the waves have returned calm and safe, while in the right half they are stirred by violent winds that have torn the sail from the mast and overwhelmed a good number of the Apostles; these struggle in the waves and implore the Redeemer.

Yet the theme of the ship in the storm was treated more grandly and artistically on three exceptional gold multiples: the 10-ducat piece of Sixtus IV (1471–84); the 4-ducat piece of Paul II (1464–71); and the 5-ducat piece of Alexander VI (1492–1502). The first is the most notable, both for its weight and because it is dated to the Jubilee of 1475. On the obverse, with the legend SIXTUS IIII PONTIFEX MAXIMUS ANNO IOBILEI – PETRE PASCE OVES MEAS, are shown the Redeemer and Peter standing in open country shaded by groups of trees where a numerous flock grazes; on the reverse, with the inscription DOMINE ADIUVA NOS – MODICE FIDEI QUARE DUBITATIS, is a ship with a large sail on the agitated waves of the sea; within are the Apostles, and Paul holds the tiller. Outside the ship among the waves to the right Christ appears standing on the water in the act of extending His right hand to St Peter half-submerged. At the top from opposite sides two wind-heads blow upon the sail. The multiple of Paul II shows on the obverse, with the legend PAULUS II PONTIFEX MAXIMUS ANNO I – PETRE PASCE OVES MEAS (1464), the Redeemer and Peter standing in open country where a flock grazes; above is the Pope’s shield; on the reverse with the inscription MODICE FIDEI QUARE DUBITATIS is a ship moving leftward and the same scene as above. On the rim of the ship is the invocation DOMINI ADIUVA NOS. The piece of Alexander VI has on the obverse the inscription ALEXANDER VI PONTIFEX MAXIMUS BORGIA VALENT and the papal shield surmounted by the triregnum and the keys and upheld by two angels flanking it; on the reverse with the inscription MODICE FIDEI QUARE DUBITATIS is again the ship on the agitated sea, and the scene as above.

The three exceptional pieces present a similar but not identical reverse on which the inspiration from the Giottesque mosaic known as the Navicella in the portico of St Peter’s is easily recognisable. For the obverse this is repeated on two of them.

Expanded and enriched with details, the type resembles the well-known ducat of PAUL II: PETRUS PASCE OVES MEAS, where the Redeemer, recognizable by the cruciform nimbus and the long mantle, points to St. Peter four little sheep grazing at his feet. The two types, common to two and to all three pieces, show an interdependence determined by the varying stylization of individual elements and the varying richness of details, so that the chronology of the three pieces is not that of their respective rulers, but the following: PAUL II, ALEXANDER VI, SIXTUS IV; a strange fact even for their respective artistic value, though exceptional for the three multiples.

As for the epigraphic element, it should be noted that the phrase PETRE PASCE OVES MEAS appears for the first time on the gold ducat of PAUL II already mentioned, where that ingenuous depiction without any landscape display proves to be an initial attempt at an episodic scene and as such has all the freshness of an original and inspired artistic creation by faith. The phrase DOMINE ADIUVA NOS will later appear on some medals of CLEMENT VIII, with the fine depiction of the Apostles on the boat in danger from an oncoming storm, who beg Christ asleep, a type that derives precisely from the aforementioned multiples, of which it is a variant. The phrase QUARE DUBITASTI will be inscribed on the giulio of CLEMENT VI alongside 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 part of the depiction of these multiple pieces or true medallions.

4. The Ark of Noah

Appears on the double gold and then on the half silver scudo of INNOCENT XII (1691-1700). On the first piece the scene is more complex: the ark is a rectangular hut-like structure covered by a two-spired roof, supported by an oval boat; it sails on calm waves from which emerges an islet; from the right a dove appears in flight toward the ark bearing the olive branch: NUNTIA PACIS. On the half scudo one sees only the ship with the ark from its open hatch, resting on a mountain emerged from the pacified waves: FACTUS EST IN PACIS.

5. The Veronica

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

6. Papal iconography

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

In the rich group of emissions with monogrammatic type, the antiquiores, is inserted a beardless bust with crowned hair and pontifical mantle, which the circular legend allows to be identified as the bust of Pope SERGIUS III (898-900). This bust alternates with that of St. Peter also duly named. The example will be followed by Benedict VI and others. BONIFACE VIII (1294-1303) on the silver papal grosso of the Ponte della Sorga mint inserts another frontal mitred bust, with cross-shaped clasp and oblique key in the right hand; the legend reads: DOMINI BONIFACII PAPAE. No intent at iconographic realism, but the pontiff in his ceremonial robes and the insignia of his sacred and profane authority. Follows the silver grosso of CLEMENT V (1305-14) of 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 full figure of the mitred pope seated frontal on 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 fleur-de-lis coins of ROBERT, JOANNA and RENÉ OF ANJOU and then on the Aragonese gold coins. Even MARTIN V and EUGENE IV present the same papal type.

But already with EUGENE IV at a certain point the personal coat of arms of the pope begins to appear permanently on the coinage, and then with SIXTUS IV (1471-84) on an emission of silver grossi of the Roman mint makes its first appearance the true individual portrait of the Pontiff: a bust to the left, clean-shaven, bare-headed, with stole in the shape of a bow 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 below the circular legend reaching the peripheral outer line of the coin’s mount. JULIUS II in turn places his portrait on various gold and silver denominations; the bust is more developed, turns to the right, a lively and magnificent portrait in all its individual elements. So do, but on few emissions, predominating the coat of arms, all successors with few exceptions (they do not have the portrait on the coins of Rome: PAUL IV, GREGORY XV, ALEXANDER VII, CLEMENT IX). ALEXANDER VIII has magnificent and realistic portraits, bare-headed, with drooping mustache over pointed beard; on some pieces he wears camauro and mozzetta. INNOCENT X on the Jubilee Year shield of 1650 presents himself with triregnum and cope. PIUS VI places his portrait on various shields and half shields of Rome; PIUS VII on a single shield.

There are not many episodic types concerning 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 Sangallo. CLEMENT VII has a more significant type on a double gold ducat, presumably by Cellini: on the obverse with the inscription: CLEMENS - UT OMNIS TERRA ADORET TE, is the bearded Pope, with tiara and cope, kneeling to the right and the Emperor CHARLES V, bearded, with imperial crown and mantle, kneeling to the left, in the act of lifting a heavy cross placed obliquely between them: on the reverse with the legend UNUS SP(IRITUS) ET UNA FIDES ERAT IN EIS, Peter and Paul standing facing. This ducat commemorates the peace concluded in June 1529 between the Pope and the Emperor.

PIUS V is the first pontiff to depict himself praying and kneeling at the foot of the Cross: ABSIT NISI IN TE GLORIARI. The type will be repeated by CLEMENT VIII. URBAN VIII on a giulio depicts himself kneeling bare-headed before St. Michael who, armed and winged, appears among the clouds with scales in his left hand: TE MANE TE VESPERE.

INNOCENT XII (1691-1700) has three episodic depictions; on a large shield in a well-distributed scene, with effective background and adequately rendered setting, appears the Pope seated on a throne under a canopy among standing guards 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 for its different distribution. On a half scudo INNOCENT XII appears kneeling with arms crossed on his chest and leaning on the armrest, looking up at the radiant dove appearing among the clouds: FIAT PAX IN VIRTUTE TUA. Finally, on a testone, the Pope, with tiara and cope, seated on a dais between two cardinals, listens to the oration ROGATE QUAE AD PACEM SUNT read by a priest from a pulpit; beside the reader are two trumpeters; it is the same scene as the medal of CLEMENT VIII (1592-1605): IUBILEI INDICTO.

Finally, Clement XI (1700–21) presents on a magnificent shield a complex scene designated by the phrase: VOX DE THRONO; in the architectural backdrop of the interior of the Liberian Basilica the Pope seated on a throne reads the homily from a book held open by a kneeling priest before him, assisted by cardinals and before a numerous crowd. The scene is crowded to the point of being implausible, yet it has the realistic character of solemn ceremonies.

7. The Magi

They appear only once, on the 2½-ducat gold piece of Leo X: LUX VERA IN TENEBRIS LUCET. Crowned, with cloaks draped over their shoulders, they ride to the left guided by the star that shines from above, at which they gaze. The horses recede into the distance, so that only the first is fully visible, while of the other two only the hindquarters can be seen. Only seven legs are drawn. The three riders are equal in height and posture, and their silhouettes are parallel; they carry the three vessels of offerings visibly. The composition is naive in its simplicity and parallelism of elements, and is believed to allude to the comet that appeared in Europe at the end of 1513, regarded as an omen of good fortune for the Pope’s reign.

8. The Nativity

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

A second occurrence of the Nativity is on the triple giulio of Clement VII, commemorating the opening of the Holy Year on the day before Christmas: HODIE SALUS FACTA EST. The Divine Child lies at the center on his bedding; above him converge the heads of the two quadrupeds that protrude from a manger; on either side, in adoration, are the Virgin and St Joseph, and above shines the star. The larger diameter of the piece and a more artistic conception of the type led the artist to a more logical and yet simpler arrangement of the scene, which achieves great effect in its simplicity.

On the testone of Gregory XIII, LETAMINI GENTES, perhaps also on the occasion of the opening of the Holy Year, a similarly schematic scene is drawn.

9. The bust of Christ and episodic figures of Christ

Bearded, with long soft hair falling over the neck and a short pointed beard, the bust of Christ first appears on the gold shield 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 again on the gold shields of Gregory XIII and Sixtus V: BEARE SOLEO AMICOS MEOS.

Episodic types with the figure of Christ are not numerous. They begin with Julius II, who on the double giulio places the Redeemer delivering the keys to St Peter: ACCIPE CLAVES REGNI CÆLORUM. This type more adequately and logically interprets the first investiture of the dignity and authority of the papacy, transmitted from Peter to the Pope on the double of Paul II of which mention has been made. The type seems to draw inspiration from a painting by Perugino. On a triple silver giulio of Leo X is the scene: DO VOBIS PACEM MEAM; the standing Redeemer with long hair falling over his shoulders, nimbed with a cross, and a long mantle, blesses the nimbed Apostles who kneel before him. The scene is well executed and is thought 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 ducat of gold, known only from an impression by Scilla in the Vatican Library: ECCE HOMO – PRO EGO UT ME DILIGERENT; Christ standing, nearly naked, nimbed, with a mantle over his shoulders and his hands bound before his body. It is said that the die was by Cellini. Poorly conceived and unclear is the scene on the testone of Paul III, Christ speaking to the Apostles: TU AUTEM IPSI ES. Not much better is the scene of the Baptism of Jesus on the testone of Pius V: VENITE AD ME OMNES ET EGO REFICIAM VOS; the nimbed Christ standing is depicted speaking to three wretchedly dressed individuals prostrate and imploring him; the scene is effective and treated realistically especially in the poor supplicants; it is then repeated on the testone of Gregory XIII. Worth recalling also is the large silver shield of Clement XI: VIDERUNT OCULI MEI SALUTARE TUUM, where the Child Jesus is held in the arms of Simeon, beside whom is the Virgin Mother kneeling, and behind her St Joseph, a winged angel, and an assistant. Finally, on the shield of Innocent X, IN VERBO TUO, is the radiant Redeemer blessing St Peter kneeling before him.

10. The Virgin Mother

Paul III (1534–49) inaugurates the type of the Virgin Mother on the silver giulio, with the fine half-length group of Mary and the Divine Child: VIRGO TUA GLORIA PARTUS. The type is 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 shield SUBLIMIS INTER SIDERA presents the group on clouds.

Then there is the Virgin with the Divine Child 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 found in numerous variants in the monumental canvases of our 18th-century churches.

Gregory XV inaugurates on various pieces the magnificent depiction of the Immaculate Conception: SUB TUUM PRAESIDIUM; the Virgin standing on the crescent moon resting on clouds, hands joined in an oval of flames, her head crowned with stars. This depiction long prevails with Urban VIII, Innocent X (UNDE VENIT AUXILIUM MIHI), Alexander VII (VIRGO CONCIPIET); with Clement IX on the quadruple CANDOR LUCIS AETERNÆ and with Clement X on the testone: CUM ME LAUDARENT SIMUL ASTRA MATUTINA. A variant appears with Clement XI on his gold quadruple: the Virgin stands on the globe and beside her is the Divine Child, nearly naked, radiant-headed, who thrusts the cross-tipped lance into the jaws of a dragon lying at their feet: CAUSA NOSTRÆ LÆTITIÆ, and with Benedict XIV: MACULA NON EST IN TE – TOTA PULCHRA ES.

Innocent XI in turn (1676–89) presents on the quadruple the Virgin assumed into heaven amid clouds, radiant, frontal, with a crown of seven stars around her head: beneath her the rainbow and clouds: FUNDA NOS IN PACE. On another quadruple and on a testone is a pictorial type: the Virgin with the Divine Child seated on a throne, frontal, at whose feet kneel and pray St Augustine, St Francis, St Lawrence, and St Stephen.

Clement XI finally places on a silver shield the Virgin of St Mary in Trastevere, nimbed and crowned, seated, frontal, on a throne, with the Divine Child on her lap and holding a four-armed cross in her right hand. Two large angels stand at the sides of the throne; at the Virgin’s feet kneels the Pope Innocent II: DILEXIT DECORUM DOMUS TUÆ. The church was in fact being restored by Clement XI.

11. Biblical scenes

These are few and are found on the coins of Gregory XIII (1562–85), Clement X (1670–76), Innocent XII (1691–1700).

Gregorio 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; to 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**, the figure of Moses, radiant and cloaked, kneeling to the left, places on the ground a flexible 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 the silver testone the inspired figure of King David,

crowned and bearded, draped, seated, and playing the harp: **NE PROICIAS ME IN TEMPORE SENECTUTIS**.

On the silver shield of Innocent XII (1691–1700): **EGREDITUR POPULUS ET COLLIGAT**, are the Jews in the desert gathering the manna. The scene, somewhat trite, is enlivened and made interesting by the variety of its elements: in the foreground and middle ground, men, women, and children, lying or seated, display the joyful surprise of the event; in the background to the upper right are the clouds from which the manna rains, while to the left other clouds advance to darken the sky; in the center background is the view of the encampment. On a half-shield of the same: **PARATE VIAM DOMINI**, the scene presents St. John the Baptist, standing, preaching to the multitudes seated on the slopes of a mountain. The seminude, powerful, and energetic figure of John, who holds a reed in his right hand and has his left extended in an oratorical gesture, stands out among the crowd of bearded and cloaked elders who listen. Also noteworthy is a shield of Gregory XVI: **LUMEN AD REVELATIONEM GENTIUM**, with the aged Simeon taking the Child into his arms as presented by the Mother; beside him are St. Joseph with the basket of two doves and the aged Anna.

12. Saints and Blesseds

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

Sixtus V (1585–90) inaugurates on the silver shield the depiction of St. Francis of Assisi, who, in a posture of supplication with outstretched arms, is in the act of receiving the stigmata-like rays that emanate from a Crucifix suspended above. Before the Saint is a rocky landscape; behind him rises a large leafy tree that shades him: **IN TE SIGNUM NOSTRAE REDEMPTIONIS — IN TE SITIO**; the scene, magnificent in its emotional religious sentiment, still presents in the landscape the setting of the miracle. On a double 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 a rock, looks upward with outstretched arms toward a seraph from which the rays of the stigmata emanate. This depiction is even more restrained and moving.

St. Michael is introduced into the typology in several variants by Urban VIII (1623–44) on the quadrupla of the clock, armed and winged, now standing on the ground, now suspended in the air, now with the cross-hilted shield and piercing Lucifer with his lance. The latter, with bat-like wings, horned head, bestial face, and serpentine tail, writhes at the feet of the Saint, trying to escape: **VIVIT DEUS**. Elsewhere on the silver shields: **TE MANTE VESPERE**, on the stage are three other demons attempting to rise from the flames that engulf them. On another shield the scene is simpler and more restrained: the kneeling Pontiff looks up at St. Michael, who, armed with scales, appears among the clouds above. A more complex variant appears on the shield of Innocent XII (1691–1700), where St. Michael, winged and in flight, strikes down Satan crouched at his feet amid the flames.

Alexander VII (1655–67) on a shield **DISPERSIT DEDIT PAUPERIBUS** places St. Thomas of Villanova (from an ancient depiction of St. Francis) introduces into the typology St. Venantius, standing frontally, nimbed, with the cross-flag and a small city; then Pius V in a poorly constructed scene presents the Saint again kneeling before the Crucifix placed on the altar, while he turns to look back at an angel in flight who seems to present him with a cloth on which the Battle of Lepanto is painted. Innocent XI (1676–89) introduces St. Matthew in two variants, now seated on a throne, now seated on clouds with an open book but looking back at an angel in flight who appears to speak to him. The two variants are similar in the emphatic attitude of the Saint, the exaggerated torsion of the body, the overly ample and abundant drapery of the garments; here too art has betrayed the concept by translating it with emphasis and above all with an absolute lack of restraint and religious inspiration. Alexander VIII in turn presents St. Magnus the Bishop and St. Bruno the Hermit; Clement XI St. Frances of Rome, and then St. Clement, who appears in two variants: seated on the clouds with the palm and anchor: **DOMINUS ELEGIT TE HODIE**; or kneeling before the Lamb lying dead on a high rock: **DONA NOBIS PACEM**; then St. Crescentius at a gallop in helmet and armor who pierces the dragon; finally the Guardian Angel in flight leading a child by the hand, pointing out to him the radiant sky amid the clouds. Clement XII presents St. Andrew Corsini, kneeling, in pontifical vestments, before whom is a seminude angel with a mitre: **GENUS ALTO A SANGUINE**. On the testone of Pius VIII is found St. Exuperantius and St. Sperandia both standing; and on the half-shield of Gregory XVI St. Romuald kneeling with the Crucifix before a rock on which are a skull and a staff. The scene is shaded by trees.

13. Architectural monuments and panoramic views

Apart from the *giuli* of Leo X for the Marca of Ancona, on which appears a depiction in two variants of a domed temple flanked by two bell towers (perhaps St. Peter’s Basilica) and on the reverse the kneeling Pontiff presenting the temple itself to St. Peter, but without bell towers: **PETRE ECCE TEMPLUM TUUM** (and the gold shield of Pius V from the Avignon mint, with a bird’s-eye view of Avignon), it seems that Clement VIII (1592–1605) was the first to resort to architectural types; on his gold shield is the façade of the side entrance of the Lateran Basilica with two bell towers on either side, between which are the busts of St. Peter and St. Paul, looking on: **GLORIOSI PRINCIPES ROMA**; it is said to commemorate the work carried out by the Pope in the transept of the Basilica. The depiction is exceedingly schematic.

With Clement X and his successors, the large silver *scudi* and *mezzi scudi* provided the engraver with a field more suited to complex depictions that evoke their respective merits in the construction and reconstruction of buildings. Clement X (1670–76) depicts the port of Civitavecchia with its arsenal and fortress, and large sailing ships in the water: *UT ABUNDETIS MAGIS*; the type is highly effective and alludes to the circumstance that the Pope reduced it to a free port. Innocent XI presents the façade of St. Peter’s Basilica dominated by the dome: *PORTAE INFERI NON PRAEVALEBUNT*. Innocent XII (1691–1700) depicts the port of Anzio: *VENTI ET MARE OBEDUNT EI*, in memory of the works he had carried out there, and on the quadruple of 1694 (*DAT OMNIBUS AFFLUENTER*) the fountain of Piazza S. Maria in Trastevere, rebuilt by the Pope. Clement XI (1700–21) features the obelisk and the fountain of Piazza del Pantheon: *FONTIS ET FORI ORNAMENTO* (in another depiction framed by buildings on three sides); the circular church of S. Teodoro al Palatino: *IN HONOREM S. THEODORI MAR (TIRIS)*; the two-tiered viaduct of the bridge of Civitavecchia against the backdrop of the city and landscape: *PROSPERUM ITER PACIET - PONS CIVIT (ATIS) CASTELLANAE*; the panoramic view of Urbino, his native city, with its most characteristic monuments and the viaduct in the foreground: *CIVITAS URBINI*; the façade of the Ducal Palace of Urbino on its two longer sides: *BENEFICIIS MAGNIFICENTIAM*; the isolated Pantheon 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 lying down: *LAETIFICAT CIVITATEM*; the silhouette of the Capitoline Palaces in the background of the personifications of Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture: *DIONYSII VICTORIAM*. Finally, Clement XII, on a *mezzo scudo*, places the façade of the church of S. Giovanni dei Fiorentini in Rome: *DECUS PATRIAE*, etc. However, more numerous are the architectural types depicted on the annual papal medals.

12. Personifications of Abstract Concepts. Allegories. — These are not many and all date from the second half of the 16th century; they can be divided into two groups: the first comprises personifications that imitate Roman classical types; the second, personifications created anew.

To the first group belong the following types of Julius III (1550–55): Rome, in an Amazonian form, seated on the seven hills with a crown in her outstretched right hand: *OMNIA TUTAS VIDES*; *CONCORDIA - ALMA ROMA*, a female figure seated before an altar with a patera and a double cornucopia; *MELIORE MANENT*, a female figure of Rome-Minerva in helmet standing with a spear and shield and her foot on a helmet. To the second group 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 frontally with a chalice and a long cross; *NUNQUAM DEFICIENT*, a standing female figure frontally, leaning on a long cross with the IHS monogram and the keys in her left hand; it is the Church; *IUSTITIA RESURGENS*, a frontal female figure with a drawn sword and scales; *SEMPER OPERIBUS AUCTA*, a female figure with a chalice and a long cross; *UT NON DEFICIT - NUNQUAM DEFICIENT*, a standing female figure supporting with her right hand the IHS monogram and with her left the keys.

Sixtus V (1585–90), after repeating the various previous types, introduces *SECURITAS PAUPERUM*, a seated female figure before a blazing altar adorned with keys and the IHS monogram, leaning on a lit torch; a revival of the classical type of *SECURITAS* of Nero. Clement VII presents the group *IUSTITIA PAX DEOSCULATAE SUNT*, the first with a sword and scales, the second with a branch, in the act of kissing each other. Clement X (1670–76) has Clemency and Liberality in the classical schema, but in the academic and cold style of the time: *CLEM(ENTIA) MALUM MINUIT - LIB(ERALITAS) BONUM AUGET*. Alexander VIII (1689–1691), with the legend *LEGIONE AD BELLUM SACRUM INSTRUCTA*, presents a standing female figure with the IHS monogram on her head, a temple on her right, and in her left the Roman legionary standard 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 seated female figure leaning on an altar surmounted by the IHS monogram surrounded by two laurel branches, and looking at a cross she holds in her left hand; at her feet lie scattered weapons; with *NOVIT IUSTUS CAUSAM PAUPERUM* there is a seated female figure, Charity, 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 frontal semi-nude female figure with a branch raised in her right hand and her left arm resting on a broadsword; finally, with *EGENO ET PAUPERI* there is a similar draped female figure with a flame on her head, who empties a cornucopia onto the ground, in a theatrical gesture reminiscent of the Roman prototype of *Uberitas*.

Clement XI (1700–21), on the quadruple and the *testone* *A DEO ET PRO DEO*, places a draped standing frontal female figure with a child in her arms and two naked genii standing at her sides pouring the contents of two cornucopias onto the ground. Clement XII, with *FOEDUS EST INTER ME ET TE*, presents Justice and Abundance seated shaking hands. Benedict XIV has the type of the Church seated on clouds with a radiant head and holding keys and a small temple in her hands. Clement XIII gives a variant with the piece *SUPRA FIRMAM PETRAM*, later 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, a chalice, and a staff: *SUPRA FIRMAM PETRAM - POPULIS EXPIATIS*. It is easy to see from this brief overview that all the personifications repeat statuary types dear to the academic art of the 18th and 19th centuries in Italy.

14. Miscellaneous

It is also worth briefly recalling various types of a different nature that do not fall into the categories considered so far.

With Leo X (1513–21) there is the fine depiction of classical reminiscence alluding to his name and his house, of the walking lion placing its right paw on a globe; often above him flies a Victory in the act of crowning him. On the *testone* of Paul III: *APTO PRAECURRE FLEXU* there is a charioteer in a galloping quadriga, also of classical inspiration. Julius III (1550–55) inscribes *PROVIDENTIA* around a square 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 perched on the ground with wings raised: *UNA EST COLUMBA MEA*. Alexander VII (1655–67) places on the *testone* *NEC CITRA NEC ULTRA* an arm supporting a balance scale in its hand; and then on the quadruple *HAEC AUTEM QUAE*

PARASTI CUIUS ERUNT a reinforced chest with its lid raised, inside which are sacks of coins; on the giulio CRESCENTEM SEQUITUR CURA PECUNIAM a table covered with a carpet on which lies a large pile 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, all framed by two tall stalks, with a fine and evocative depiction of rural life. On the doppia VECTIGALIBUS REMISSIS he places a large garlanded altar on which two sheep lie, holding between their jaws a large laurelled crown; a decorative and cold type. On the escudo SPLENDET A MAIESTATE EIUS Clement IX (1667–69) places the chair of St Peter, which repeats the shape of the ivory chair now housed in the Bernini tabernacle. The latter then appears again on the silver escudo of Innocent XII: SEDEBIT IN PULCHRITUDINE PACIS. Beside a sheaf of wheat on a gold escudo Innocent XII (1691–1700) writes DET DEUS DE COELO, and near the sunflower on another escudo: TRAHME ME POST TE; beside the pelican opening its breast with its beak: NON SIBI SED ALIIS; and near the eagle brooding over three eaglets: TEGIT ET PROTEGIT; finally on a giulio with a gunner standing beside a firing cannon: BELLUM CONTERAM DE TERRA. Clement XI (1700–21) on the gold escudo: CONFREGIT POTENTIAS ARCUUM places a drawn bow broken by an arrow nocked; on another escudo FIAT PAX is an olive tree; and with FIXA MANEBIT it is the anchor set upright on the surface of a stormy sea; on the half-escudo d’oro UMBRA IN LUCEM, a radiant star high above the agitated sea. Innocent XIII has a rural scene on the half-silver escudo cum EXULTATIONE: a field rich with ripe grain; in the background a seminude male figure walks away with a sheaf in his arms; in the foreground at center another seminude figure reaps the ripe ears with a sickle while at his feet lie bound sheaves. Pius VI finally pairs with St Peter on the clouds (APOSTOLORUM PRINCIPES) a lily with various open blossoms: FLORET IN DOMO DOMINI.

15. Inscribed cartouches

It seems that Alexander VII Chigi (1655–67) began the practice of affixing on his gold doppie those legends so meaningful and rich in the highest Christian-moral teaching, which above all aim to moralize the use of money and wealth in general. These legends soon became the favoured theme of papal coinage, the epigraphic type devised by true calligraphers who replaced the engraver-artist, so that the coin, losing its artistic intricacy, assumed the role of a means for moralizing society. This type, consisting of an inscription that sums up a thought or lesson, is usually enclosed in a crown or, more often, in a cartouche of varied shapes dictated by innovative tastes. Earlier popes had already altered the peripheral design almost with every issue.

Alexander VII (1655–67) on the double ducat writes in a four-line cartouche between two laurel branches: NON EX TRISTITIA AUT EX NECESSITATE, and on the large and half-grosso d’argento: HILAREM DATOREM DILIGIT DEUS – TEMPERATO SPLENDET USU. Innocent XI (1676–89) already places numerous inscriptions on quadruple, doppie, gold escudos and silver escudos and half-escudos, on very many testoni and giuli. Innocent XII (1691–1700) inscribes on testoni and giuli: NOLI AMARE NE PERDAS – NON SIT TECUM IN PERDITIONEM – PRAECUCUPAEUS FACIEM EIUS – TAMQUAM LUTUM AESTIMABITUR – QUI MISERETUR BEATUS ERIT – ROGATE EA QUAE AD PACEM SUNT – ELEVAT PAUPEREM – NE OBLIVISCARIS PAUPERUM – PECCAA ELEMOSYNIS REDIME – QUI VIDET TE REDDET TIBI – DA PAUPERI. Clement XI (1700–21) has many exhortations on doppie, gold escudos and escudos, all concerning the use and abuse of money, the hunger for gold and its harms, the duty to aid the poor and to turn wealth to good works. Innocent XIII, Benedict XIII, Clement XII, Benedict XIV and Clement XIII adopt others still analogous in meaning.

16. Sede vacante and Holy Year

The series of sede vacante coins consists of pieces struck at Rome and in some local mints during the intervals between a pope’s death and the election of his successor, beginning with the vacancy of 1521. These series comprise few pieces, usually of silver, more or less rare according to the length of the vacancy. On the obverse of each piece is the coat of arms of the Camerlengo surmounted by the crossed keys beneath the canopy; on the reverse are types usually borrowed from the immediately preceding period. The most extensive series are those for the sede vacante of 1655, lasting three months, for which quadruple and double gold ducats, silver escudos, testoni, giuli, etc. were struck; that of 1677, for which gold and silver escudos, testoni and giuli exist; that of 1669 (quadruple, doppie, gold escudos, and nearly all silver denominations); that of 1689 (gold quadruple, silver escudos and testoni), and so on. From the sede vacante of 1730 onward gold zecchini, silver escudos, etc. are found.

The series of Holy Year coins, after the institution in 1500 by Alexander VI of the Holy or Golden Door, features among the most frequent types the ceremonies then inaugurated of opening or closing the Door. The commonest coins usually bear the date with the legend ANNO IMBELLE and the type of the closed Holy Door richly adorned with the Cross, the sudarium, angels, etc., whereas the episodic types depicting the ceremonies were reserved for medals and large silver escudos. Large quantities of coins were struck on these occasions in various metals and all denominations by every pope; thus Clement VI (1525) struck a ten-ducat gold piece, the triple giulio, etc.; Julius III (1550) gold escudos, silver testoni, giuli, grossi, etc.; Gregory XIII (1575) and Clement VII (1600) only silver; Urban VIII (1625), Innocent X, Clement X, etc. gold escudos and doppie, silver escudos, etc.; and so on down to Pius VI (1775) who struck only the silver giulio and grosso. — Vedi tavv. CXXVII CXXVIII.