1 Giulio – Papal States

In 1760, the Papal States' monetary system was a complex and fragmented relic of the medieval period, reflecting the political and economic divisions within the territories. There was no single, unified Papal currency. Instead, the primary silver coin was the papal scudo, which circulated alongside a multitude of older regional coins from former city-states like Bologna and Ravenna, as well as a significant influx of foreign specie, particularly Spanish silver pieces of eight. This created a chaotic environment where exchange rates fluctuated locally, and transactions required expert knowledge of numerous coins' weight and fineness, hampering trade and central administration.

The system was further strained by chronic fiscal pressures. The Papal States, while not engaged in major wars, faced the immense costs of administering both a spiritual capital and a temporal territory, funding grand artistic projects, and maintaining a complex bureaucracy. Revenue often fell short, leading to repeated debasements of the coinage—reducing the silver content in coins to generate seigniorage profit. This practice, while providing short-term liquidity, eroded public trust in the currency, encouraged hoarding of older, purer coins (Gresham's Law), and fueled inflation, disproportionately burdening the poor.

Pope Clement XIII, reigning from 1758 to 1769, inherited this unstable situation. His pontificate, however, was marked more by theological and political challenges (such as the suppression of the Jesuits) than by comprehensive monetary reform. While some administrative efforts were made to standardize minting, a true unification and stabilization of the currency would not be achieved until the 19th century, notably under Pope Pius VII after the Napoleonic interruption. Thus, in 1760, the monetary landscape remained a testament to the enduring tension between the Papacy's universal spiritual claims and the particularistic, often inefficient, economic realities of its temporal domain.