Flag of the Papal States
History
Origins
During early Christianity, when Rome was the capital the (Western) Roman Empire, Christian land owners within and around Rome donated land to the Church. Despite the Fall of the Roman Empire in 476 this process continued, even though the Church only held the lands as a private landowner. In the 6th century the Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine Empire) reconquered Italy and established the Exarchate of Ravenna. The Lombards conquered much of Italy in the 7th century, leaving only a small band of Byzantine territory in Central Italy. As a reaction the Byzantines granted control of the Duchy of Rome (modern-day Latium) to the Pope, who was a central figurehead in Italy.
The Lombards conquered the Exarchate of Ravenna in 751, which cut off the Duchy of Rome from the Byzantine Empire. Pope Zachary allied with Frankish King Pepin the Young, who defeated the Lombards and donated the former Exarchate to Zachary's successor Pope Stephen II in 754. Pepin's son Charlemagne formalised the Pope's sovereignity over the Papal States, and in return Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne as the first Emperor in Europe in 800 AD, more than three centuries after the Fall of the Roman Empire.
The Frankish Empire was subsequently divided over Charlemagne's grandsons causing a century of rule by local nobility rather than the Pope. When King Otto established the Holy Roman Empire in 966, the Pope's sovereignity over the Papal States was restored altough the emperors often interfered in their affairs. The Papal States became officially independent from the HRE in 1177.
Middle Ages
From 1305 to 1378 the popes lived in the French city of Avignon, which became part of the Papal States and remained so until the 18th century. During the absence of the popes there were many power struggles in Central Italy between competing clans. After the return of the popes in 1378 and the onset of the Renaissance, the Papal States expanded their territory, allied with other states and fought a number of wars. Pope Julius II was nicknamed the "Warrior Pope". The earthly affairs of the popes, who were powerful figures in Italy, fueled the discontent that caused the Reformation inspired by Martin Luther in Germany.
18th century and the Napoleonic era
By the 18th century the territory of the Papal States reached its maximum extent. It included the cities of Rome, Bologna, Ferrara, Rimini and Ravenna and the enclave around Avignon in the French Provence, as well as two enclaves in the Kingdom of Naples.
The French Revolution had a massive impact on the power of the popes. In 1791 France annexed Avignon, followed by an invasion into the Papal States in 1798, establishing the Roman Republic as a French client state. The Papal States were restored already in 1800, the year when Napoleon was crowned Emperor by Pole Pius VII. Independence only lasted until 1808 when the Franch Empire annexed the Papal States.
Restoration until the unification of Italy (1814-1870)
With the collapse of the French Empire in 1814 the Papal States were restored once again. In 1846 Pope Pius IX succeeded the reactionary Gregrory XVI, fueling hopes of reform. The revolutionary wave in Europe in 1848 led to the formation of a second Roman Republic in 1849. Pius IX fled the city and used French help to restore power in 1850. His liberal policies were replaced by conservative ones.
The Italian States before the unification process that started in 1859.
Despite the failed revolutions of 1848-49, the Italian independence movement did not stop their efforts. At that time the Kingdom of Sardinia was the only truly Italian state, with the others dominated by rulers allied to France, Spain and Austria. Supported by France, Sardinia annexed Lombardy in 1859, sparking a wave of revolts in other Italian states to overthrow their leaders and join the Sardinian bid to unify Italy. General Giuseppe Garibaldi, the national hero of Italy, overthrew the Bourbons in the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies in the south. The Sardinians intervened by asking French permission to send troops through the Papal States to restore order, which was granted on the condition that Rome was not attacked. In 1860 all of the Papal States except Latium were annexed by the Kingdom of Sardinia and became part of the Kingdom of Italy in 1861.
Because a French garrison protected Rome, Italy was left without its proposed capital. The Franco-Prussian War (1870-71) provided the opportunity to invade Rome. King Vittorio Emmanuele II initially offered protection to Pope Pius IX, but he refused. Rome was annexed after a short battle in September 1870 and made capital of Italy. The Papal States ceased to exist.
Modern history (1870-date) and the Vatican
The popes persisted in their refusal to accept the hegemony of the Kingdom of Italy, even though most of Rome and the catholic elites welcomed the unification of Italy. The conflict led to a situation named 'Prisoner of the Vatican' where the pope's territory was limited to fortifications and buildings on Vatican Hill. Only in 1929 Pope Pius XII renounced the claim on the Papal States and signed the Lateran Treaty with Benito Mussolini, which officially established a sovereign Vatican City still existing today.
Currency
The silver Scudo was introduced in the Papal States in 1588, and gradually became the primary unit of account replacing the Carolingian system of Lira = 20 Soldi = 240 Denari. In the Papal States coins denominated in Quattrino (4 Denari) and Baiocco (equal to Soldo) became the most frequently used smaller denominations. The relative value of the Scudo, Baiocco and Quattrino fluctuated over time, until it was fixed in the 18th century to Scudo = 100 Baiocchi = 500 Quattrini. Other denominations were the Grosso of 5 Baiocchi, the Carlino of 7½ Baiocchi, the Paolo of 10 Baiocchi, the Testone of 30 Baiocchi and the gold Doppia of 3 Scudi. From 1835 the denominations were limited to the Scudo, Baiocco and the Quattrino.
Next to the Papal Mint in Rome, many other cities produced their own coins in the name of the Papal States. Bologna had a monetary system different from Rome. The Bolognese Soldo was named Bolognino, worth 12 Denari or 6 Quattrini in the 16th century but 5 Quattrini by the 18th century. Bologna continued to value the Lira at 20 Bolognini, with a Bianco at 10 Bolognini, a Carlino at 5 Bolognini and a Muraiola at 2 Bolognini. A Bolognese Scudo was 4 Lire or 80 Bolognini. The Roman Scudo fluctuated in value but was worth 5 Lire or 100 Bolognini by the 18th century.
The other mints of the Papal States were Ancona, Ascoli, Civitavecchia, Fano, Fermo, Foligno, Gubbio, Macerata, Matelica, Montalto, Pergola, Perugia, Ronciglione, San Severino, Spoleto, Terni, Tivoli and Viterbo.
Roman Republics
During the first Roman Republic (1798-9), coins were produced by mints in Ancona, Civitavecchia, Clitunno, Foligno, Gubbio, Pergola, Perugia and Rome. During the second Roman Republic (1849-50) this was limited to Rome and Ancona.
19th century
During the French annexation of 1808-1814 the French Franc circulated, after which the Scudo was restored. From 1835 a new coinage was introduced with denominations limited to Scudo, Baiocco and Quattrino. The unification of Italy in 1861 made the Sardinian Lira the currency of Italy. Five years later, the Papal States therefore replaced the Scudo with its own Lira (at parity with the Italian Lira) at a rate of 5.375 Lire per Scudo. This Papal Lira was divided in 20 Soldi or 100 Centesimi. It was only short-lived as in 1870 the remainder of the Papal States were annexed to Italy. It would take until the signing of the Lateran Treaty of 1929 that the Vatican City started issuing coins. The Vatican Lira was however not an independent currency but just a different coinage of the Italian Lira and from 2002 the Euro.
The Numista catalogue contains many sections for the various mints of the Papal States and the Roman Republic. The main coinage minted in Rome can be found here:
Papal States - Main coinage:
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/italie_etats-22.html#devise316
Avignon - Venaissin County:
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/feodales-6.html#devise1628
