Mint Period: 1350-1439 AD
Obverse: St. Peter standing right, presenting banner to kneeling senator. Gear wheel beneath Senator´s initials (M-B) in fields!
Legend: • S • PЄTRVS • E NATOR • VRBI • / NAS (vertical along banner)
Reverse: Christ standing facing, raising hand in benediction and holding Gospels, surrounded by elliptical halo containing nine stars.
Legend: • ROMΛ CΛPVT MV NDI • S • P • Q • R • (facing head of John the Baptist) •
Expanded: ROMA CAPUT MUNDI - SENATUS POPULASQUE ROMANUS
Translated: "Rome capital of the world, The Senate and People of Rome"
Reference: Friedberg 2, MID VOl II #1 var., CNI 610. RR!
Diameter: 21 mm
Weight: 3.5 gram of gold
This coin is similar to the Venetian ducats. The difference is that on the Venetian coins, the Doge is kneeling before St. Mark. Here, a senator is kneeling before St. Peter.
SPQR is an initialism from a Latin phrase, Senatus Populusque Romanus ("The Senate and People of Rome"), referring to the government of the ancient Roman Republic, and used as an official signature of the government. It appears on coins, at the end of documents made public by inscription in stone or metal, in dedications of monuments and public works, and was emblazoned on the standards of the Roman legions. Since the meaning and the words never vary, except for the spelling and inflection of populus in literature, Latin dictionaries classify it as a formula.