FROM THE FILIPPO TO THE CROWN. LOMBARD-VENETIAN COINS UNDER AUSTRIAN RULE
The presence in the upcoming numismatic auction at the end of November of a substantial group of Lombard-Venetian coins, minted during the Austrian domination, provides the opportunity to deepen our knowledge of an important historical period which greatly influenced the development of the modern Italian monetary system.
It was the year 1700 when Charles II of Spain died leaving his kingdom without heirs. So began what went down in history as the War of Spanish Succession, a clash involving half of Europe, not least of which Italy. In fact, Lombardy was one of the theaters of the conflict and the Duchy of Milan was one of those territories which passed from the Hapsburg crown of Spain to that of the Empire.
Charles III was proclaimed Duke of Milan in 1706 and did not change the Spanish monetary system, continuing to include the title of King of Spain on the coins as well. The situation did not change once he assumed the title of Emperor (becoming Charles VI), because two centuries of Spanish administration had deeply established the use of the Iberian system based on the gold ‘doppia’ and the silver ‘filippo’.
Maria Teresa’s rise to the throne was momentous, not only from a historical and political point of view, since her father had to modify an ultra-secular tradition to put her in the position to inherit the imperial crown, but also because of the introduction of a new monetary system which eventually replaced the outdated Spanish coins. The Empress faced serious disorganization, highlighted by Cesare Beccaria in his work Del disordine e de’ rimedj delle monete (1762), as well as the re-opening of the Milan Mint, which had been inactive for many years.
The Sixties of the eighteenth century were the ones in which the discussion between government and intellectuals in Milan, through the Supreme Council of Economy, took place about which option to adopt. They came to the following decision: to reactivate and modernize the Milan Mint and to adopt a monetary system closely linked to the Lombard tradition. Thus, in 1778, the new milanese coins were born: gold ‘doppie’ and ‘zecchini’, and silver ‘scudi’ and ‘lire’, with their various submultiples.
However, the success of the reform was short-lived thanks to the rising price of gold. Joseph II, who in the meantime had succeeded Maria Teresa, was forced to put aside the reform, abandoning the old ‘doppie’ in favor of the new sovereigns (Austrian), and reviewing the relationship between gold coins and silver coins. His successors Leopold II and Francis II did not apply any changes to the monetary system, not even during the brief Austro-Russian restoration of 1799-1800. Meanwhile, the cyclone Napoleon had hit Europe, sweeping away the habits of the old world and inaugurating a new era. With the Restoration and the return of the Austrians with Francis I of Hapsburg-Lorraine, a new state entity was established in Lombardy: the Lombard-Venetian Kingdom, which was immediately faced with the need for a renewed monetary system which could shift the Viennese authority over to the decimal system introduced by Napoleon and which was now adopted throughout continental Europe. The monetary unit became the Austrian lira divided into cents, to which gold sovereigns were linked. The Venice Mint joined Milan in the production of coins which distinguished them from the Austrian coins only by the mark of their mint of origin (M for Milan and V for Venice).
After the revolutions of 1848, a last reform was organized by Franz Joseph. The Austrian silver florin became the reference of the new system, while gold coins (crowns and half crowns) were relegated to mere commercial use. It was an unlucky reform, since in 1859 Lombardy broke away from the Austrian Empire and with the annexation to the Kingdom of Sardinia of the future King of Italy Vittorio Emanuele II, it returned to the Napoleonic decimal monetization.
by GABRIELE TONELLO
It was the year 1700 when Charles II of Spain died leaving his kingdom without heirs. So began what went down in history as the War of Spanish Succession, a clash involving half of Europe, not least of which Italy. In fact, Lombardy was one of the theaters of the conflict and the Duchy of Milan was one of those territories which passed from the Hapsburg crown of Spain to that of the Empire.
Charles III was proclaimed Duke of Milan in 1706 and did not change the Spanish monetary system, continuing to include the title of King of Spain on the coins as well. The situation did not change once he assumed the title of Emperor (becoming Charles VI), because two centuries of Spanish administration had deeply established the use of the Iberian system based on the gold ‘doppia’ and the silver ‘filippo’.
Maria Teresa’s rise to the throne was momentous, not only from a historical and political point of view, since her father had to modify an ultra-secular tradition to put her in the position to inherit the imperial crown, but also because of the introduction of a new monetary system which eventually replaced the outdated Spanish coins. The Empress faced serious disorganization, highlighted by Cesare Beccaria in his work Del disordine e de’ rimedj delle monete (1762), as well as the re-opening of the Milan Mint, which had been inactive for many years.
The Sixties of the eighteenth century were the ones in which the discussion between government and intellectuals in Milan, through the Supreme Council of Economy, took place about which option to adopt. They came to the following decision: to reactivate and modernize the Milan Mint and to adopt a monetary system closely linked to the Lombard tradition. Thus, in 1778, the new milanese coins were born: gold ‘doppie’ and ‘zecchini’, and silver ‘scudi’ and ‘lire’, with their various submultiples.
However, the success of the reform was short-lived thanks to the rising price of gold. Joseph II, who in the meantime had succeeded Maria Teresa, was forced to put aside the reform, abandoning the old ‘doppie’ in favor of the new sovereigns (Austrian), and reviewing the relationship between gold coins and silver coins. His successors Leopold II and Francis II did not apply any changes to the monetary system, not even during the brief Austro-Russian restoration of 1799-1800. Meanwhile, the cyclone Napoleon had hit Europe, sweeping away the habits of the old world and inaugurating a new era. With the Restoration and the return of the Austrians with Francis I of Hapsburg-Lorraine, a new state entity was established in Lombardy: the Lombard-Venetian Kingdom, which was immediately faced with the need for a renewed monetary system which could shift the Viennese authority over to the decimal system introduced by Napoleon and which was now adopted throughout continental Europe. The monetary unit became the Austrian lira divided into cents, to which gold sovereigns were linked. The Venice Mint joined Milan in the production of coins which distinguished them from the Austrian coins only by the mark of their mint of origin (M for Milan and V for Venice).
After the revolutions of 1848, a last reform was organized by Franz Joseph. The Austrian silver florin became the reference of the new system, while gold coins (crowns and half crowns) were relegated to mere commercial use. It was an unlucky reform, since in 1859 Lombardy broke away from the Austrian Empire and with the annexation to the Kingdom of Sardinia of the future King of Italy Vittorio Emanuele II, it returned to the Napoleonic decimal monetization.
by GABRIELE TONELLO