World coins chat: Italian States and French Feudal - Savoy

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Savoy is a region in eastern France and was a county and duchy of the Holy Roman Empire from 1003. It is located south of the Swiss city of Geneva bordering Italy to its east. When its capital was transferred from Chambéry (now in France) to Turin (now in Italy) in 1563, it effectively became an Italian state. The House of Savoy became kings of Sardinia in 1720 were kings of Italy from 1861 until 1946. The coins of Savoy are considered part of both French and Italian numismatics.


Flag of Savoy, which features St George's cross but with opposite colour use compared to the flag of England. The cross remained a symbol of the Italian monarchy until its end in 1946.

History
County of Savoy (1003-1416)
Savoy emerged in 1003 as a county of the Burgundian Kingdom, which in turn became a part of the Holy Roman Empire in 1032. In 1046 the House of Savoy acquired the March of Turin in Piedmont through marriage. In the 14th century the counties of Nizza (French: Nice) and Geneva were added, although the latter did not include the city itself. The city of Geneva joined the Swiss Confederacy instead.

Duchy of Savoy (1416-1720)
In 1416 Savoy was raised to a duchy. During the centuries that followed, Savoy was frequently involved in wars. The French Kingdom had often laid its eyes on this French-speaking nation, but the skillful Savoyard dukes were able to maintain independence. To fence off French threats, the capital was moved from Chambéry to Turin in 1563.

During the War of the Spanish Succession (1700-1714) Savoy had allied itself with Austria which turned out to become the winning side against Spain and France. Savoy was rewarded the Kingdom of Sicily in 1713 but this was swapped for Sardinia in 1720. From now on the Savoyard dukes were King of Sardinia and as a result all their posessions were seen as a single kingdom.


Map of the Savoyard posessions before it became the Kingdom of Sardinia in 1720. Savoy and Nice were ceded to France in 1860 in return for support in the war against Austria to capture Lombardy and Veneto. At the time, Savoy was a French speaking region, but in Nice an Italian dialect was mostly spoken.

Kingdom of Sardinia (1720-1861)
During the Napoleonic Wars (1792-1815) the entire mainland of the Kingdom of Sardinia was occupied and subsequently annexed by France. After its restoration in 1814 Sardinia received the former Republic of Genoa. In 1860 the kingdom was at the forefront of the unification of Italy and the House of Savoy became kings of this new country. But in return for French allegiance they did cede their ancestral lands in Savoy to France. As Savoy was mostly French-speaking this was welcomed by the local population, although some proposed to join Switzerland instead.

Currency and coins
Because Savoy is part of both French and Italian history, its coinage is part of both numismatic fields. Some argue that Savoy was a French state until the capital moved to Turin in 1563. The problem remains that it is almost impossible to find a usable cut-off date for its coinage.

The monetary system of Savoy had its roots in the Carolingian system of Lira (Livre) = 20 Soldi (Sols) = 240 Denari (Deniers) that had existed from the 8th century. Over time, many different Deniers were minted with varying silver contents which led to a mixture of names being used to distinguish them from one another. In Savoy this evolved to a system where a Denaro Forte (strong) was worth 2 Denari Viennesi (Viennois, named after the French town of Vienne, not to be confused with the Austrian capital Vienna). An Obole was half a Viennese and a Maglia (Maille) a quarter Viennese.

In the 14th century Savoy started minting silver coins named Grosso (Gros), named after the Gros Tournois that was first minted in the French city of Tours in 1255. The Grosso was worth 4 Quarti, 8 Forte, 16 Viennesi or 12 Bianchetti, and would remain a unit of account until the 16th century. A larger unit, the silver Fiorino of 12 Grossi, was part of the system aa well.

Many foreign coins made their way into Savoy and their values fluctuated. As far as it's possible the following values were used:

Cavalotto = 3 Grossi
Parpagliola = 6 Grossi
Bianco = 7 Grossi
Reale = 9 Grossi

The Lira of 20 Soldi each of 12 Denari was used alongside the Grosso. As the Grosso was debased more heavily the Lira increased in value. In 1576 it was still quoted at a value of 3 Fiorini 6 Grossi but by the 17th century the Lira was valued at 6 Fiorini. Already in 1562 it was decided to make the Lira the main unit of account, but coins of the Grosso system were minted until 1630 and demonetised as late as 1717.

The Scudo d'argento was a large silver coin based on the French Écu and initially worth 3 Lire, equal to how it was valued in France at 3 Livres. But by the 18th century the silver Scudo had appreciated to 6 Lire where it was fixed as a unit of account. The gold Scudo was valued at 2 silver Scudi.

The Tallero was based on the German Thaler and valued at 42 Grossi in 1553 and 112 Grossi or 16 Bianchi in the 17th century. The Beato and Testone were both valued at 15 Soldi.

Catalogue
French Savoy (1003-1563)
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/savoy_france_feudal-1.html

Italian Savoy/Piedmont (1563-1720)
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/savoy-1.html

Kingdom of Sardinia (1720-1861), also includes coinage of the island of Sardinia from before 1720. Piedmont and Sardinia had separate coinages until 1818.
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/sardinia-1.html

Sources
House of Savoy in La Moneta online catalogue:
https://numismatica-italiana.lamoneta.it/cat/W-3

Monete Reali di Savoia (in Italian):
https://www.scribd.com/doc/228746520/Monete-dei-reali-di-Savoia-Vol-II-edite-ed-illustrate-da-Domenico-Promis
Quote: "jokinen"​Because Savoy is part of both French and Italian history, its coinage is part of both numismatic fields. Some argue that Savoy was a French state until the capital moved to Turin in 1563. The problem remains that it is almost impossible to find a usable cut-off date for its coinage.








Exactly why I wasn't sure whether to do Savoy as another one of my France - Feudal writeups, or leave it to you. I guess you just settled that question. France and Italy- can't imagine a better combination. :O

Fun fact; a region ruled by the Savoyards adjacent to Savoie (as it is in French) called the Val d'Aoste (Aosta Valley) is largely Francophone even today; and it adopted French as an official language in 1536, three years before France itself.
It is actually amazing to conclude that Italy's royal family originated from France while France's most famous leader was ethnically Italian.

I actually wonder why France wanted Nizza so badly and left Aosta on the other side of the border. Hmm, probably it's economics.

Anyway, I am going to reorganise this part of the catalogue so that Piemontese coins will be merged with Savoy to form Savoy-Piedmont for the 1562-1816 era. It will have 3 currencies:

Fiorino (1562-1717)
Lira (1562-1755)
Scudo (1755-1816)

The Fiorino and Lira were used in parallel for a long time, and their respective values fluctuated.

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