Got A Silver Coin From Rome...

Gregory XI, Papal States
AR bolognino
Obv: ·S· PETRVS· P, mitred bust facing
Rev: +DE·ROMA·, in center: ·V·R·B·I· in angles, in pattern of short cross
Mint: Rome; struck 1370-1378
Ref: Berman 209

Ah ha! I'll bet you were expecting a denarius, right? Well we're over a thousand years removed from all your Trajans, Hadrians, Vespasians, etc. with this recent acquisition of mine. If it was illegal for a coin to be very attractive, this one would be an upstanding, law-abiding citizen, but I like Rome, and I like the European Middle Ages, so a coin from medieval Rome (aside from early Byzantine and Gothic Rome-mint coins) was on my list for a while, and from my searching, medieval Roman coins are not that common, so I'm glad I got this at a decent price I could agree on. What I really want though is a 7th-8th century Papal monogram silver coin from Rome, but that's another, very expensive story.

If you look closely at the reverse, you will notice that it is mistruck.

This AR bolognino was struck under the pontificate of Gregory XI, who was Pope from 1370 to 1378.



Gregory XI was born as Pierre Roger de Beaufort, in France around 1329-1330. When he succeeded Urban V as Pope, the Papacy had been based in Avignon, France since 1309. The War of the Eight Saints between a coalition of Italian city-states and the Avignon Papacy, and the influence of Catherine of Siena both helped to contribute to Gregory XI's decision to move the Papal court back to Rome in 1377.

During Gregory's papacy, the Catholic Church took harsher measures against a reform movement called Lollardism, which included burning at the stake. The Church also sought to combat corrupt practices by some of its own clergy, including charging fees from pilgrims to access holy sites, and the passing off of fake saint relics as authentic. Gregory XI himself helped establish peace between Sicily and Naples.

Gregory did not last long in Rome, dying on March 27, 1378. After his death, the Romans pressured the College of Cardinals to choose an Italian as Pope, Urban VI. But the cardinals quickly grew to dislike Urban, and they moved to Fondi and chose an opposing Pope, Clement VII. Clement and the cardinals then made Avignon their base. This began the Western Schism that lasted until 1417.

More info here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Gregory_XI