Fermo 1799 5 baiocchi
This specimen was lot 2776 in Stephen Album sale 45 (Santa Rosa, CA, January 2023), where it sold for $216. The catalog description[1] noted, "PAPAL STATES: Pius VI, 1775-1799, AE 5 baiocchi, Fermo, 1799 year XXIII, KM-151, an attractive nearly mint state example, PCGS graded AU58, ex Joe Sedillot Collection." This type is listed for 1797 and 1799 and was struck in Fermo. The French invasion of 1796 disrupted the delicate economic balance of the Papal States and destroyed the value of the paper currency which funded it. Hard money went into hiding and the pope was forced to issue a series of copper emergency money, including this type, which substituted for the silver grosso. Temporary branch mints were opened to produce more. Varieties exist; KM 3.1 shows the value as "BAIOC/CINQVE/FERMO" whereas this example displays "BAIOC/CHI/CINQVE", without "FERMO". The Roman Republic was formed to welcome the advancing French armies in 1798 and the pope fled to Venice and Austrian protection. When Napoleon left Italy for Paris, the puppet republics all collapsed and the pope returned to Rome, to rule until 1808.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 21.34 g, copper.
Catalog reference: KM-3.3, Ber-3093.
- Berman, Allen G., Papal Coins, South Salem, NY: Attic Books, 1991.
- Francesco Muntoni, Le Monete del Papi e Degli Stati Pontifici, 4 vols. Rome: P & P Santamaria, 1973.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- [1]Album, Stephen, Joseph Lang, Paul Montz, Michael Barry and Norman Douglas Nicol, Auction 45, Santa Rosa, CA: Stephen Album Rare Coins, Inc., 2022.
Link to: