The Crusades, Italy, City of Ancona, 1 Denier

These medieval one denier coins were produced in the city of Ancona, Italy, around the time of the Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Crusades. The obverse side shows a cross with the legend "DE ANCONA," while the reverse shows the letters "CVS" encircled by the legend "PP · S · QVI · RI · A." They are made of a type of debased silver called billon.

Founded as a Greek colony around 390 BCE, Ancona is a historic port city on Italy’s Adriatic coast. Ancona experienced many invasions over the centuries, but always managed to recover and eventually emerged as a semi-independent maritime republic in the Middle Ages. Ancona was governed by an oligarchic system of six elders, elected from three divisions which made up the state. The republic maintained its independence even from the Papal States during the mid-1100s, with Pope Alexander III declaring Ancona a “free city” under the Church’s protection. This allowed Ancona to maintain its self-governance while still remaining allied with the Papal States during the ongoing conflicts with the Holy Roman Empire. In practice, this meant that Ancona continued to run as an independent city as long as it pledged loyalty to the Pope.

Issuing its own currency played an important role in Ancona’s trade as an assertion of independence and right to regulate its own economic affairs. The usage of these coins in daily life enabled smoother trade with foreign merchants and lent credibility to its reputation as a reliable trading partner, and reinforced the city’s legal and commercial systems, which prioritized merchants’ rights and contract enforcement. Deniers served not only as a medium of exchange but as a visible, tangible emblem of Ancona’s political autonomy during the complex territorial disputes of the Middle Ages.

Each coin comes with a Certificate of Authenticity.