BOLOGNINO: COIN OF MODENA
2 bolognini, 1783: Duchy of Modena and Reggio
Ruler: Ercole III d'Este — Duke of Modena and Reggio from 1780 to 1796; a member of the House of Este (one of the oldest princely families in Italy).
DA DUE BOLOGNINI: equality of coin to two bolognini.
Crowned silver eagle with spread wings. — This ancient heraldic symbol was the coat of arms of the House of Este in Middle Ages (to which the issuer's ruler Ercole III belonged), as well as the Duchy of Modena and Reggio at the time of the minting of this coin.
Bolognino of this type was minted only during the years 1783-1784 (differ in the style of the eagle image and the location of the date).
- Silver (billon): 17 mm - 1.24 g
- Reference price: 19$
COIN BOLOGNINO — WHERE & WHEN (coins catalog: by names & emitents)
- ITALY, 12th-18th centuries — ITALIAN STATES (Bologna, Duchy of Modena and Reggio, City of Pesaro, City of Fermo, Papal States...): bolognino
BOLOGNINO as coin name.
Bolognino (plural: bolognini) — Italian coin of the 12th-18th centuries.
It appeared in 1191 as the first coin of Bologna in history. Permission to begin its issue as "denarium Bononiense" was granted by the Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI (German "Heinrich VI"), but with the proviso that the new Bolognese currency was not equal to the imperial currency in weight, quality and appearance.
The coin received a recognizable design, which generally remained almost unchanged until 1500 (at the base — a large Gothic letter "A", the meaning of which is unknown to me). By the way, bolognino became a prototype for other coins, in particular — marchesino, which was visually very similar.
Some time after its appearance, the weight of the coin increased — the emission of the so-called "bolognino grosso" or in translation "big bolognino" began. The standard weight type was called "bolognino piccolo" ("small bolognino").
During the 12th and 13th centuries it was an exclusively silver coin. In the 14th century, a gold bolognino appeared, and in the 16th — also a copper one.
Returning to the question of the meaning of the constant placement of the letter "A" on the obverse of almost all classic silver bolognino, I can only assume (as a version, albeit a weak one) that it could indicate the material — Argento/Argentum (i.e., silver). Or the letter may indicate a connection (to some extent heredity) of the bolognino with the somewhat earlier Agontano coin, minted by the Italian maritime republic of Ancona.
Although the name of the coin bolognino directly echoes the name of the center of issue (the city of Bologna, in northern Italy), it was subsequently issued by other issuers: Aquileia, Ascoli, Cremona, Modena... Interestingly, sometimes even the name BOLOGNINO on the corresponding coins was indicated explicitly on the coin itself (for example, we are talking about the Modena coin presented here). That is, it was not a conventional name, not a modern name for the type of coin, but the real name of the coin at that time.
