Coinage of the Republic of Siena

On 2 February 1180 there was an official agreement between Siena and the archbishop of Mainz for the latter's release from the imprisonment of the Marquis Corrado di Monferrato.

The high prelate was also an imperial chancellor of Frederick I and under oath he undertook to obtain from the emperor the confirmation of the Sienese coin, in exchange for the payment of the ransom of 400 lire by the city.

[4] Starting from the 16th century, the Sienese she-wolf with Senio and Aschio, the Madonna and finally the shield of the Republic of Siena with LIBERTAS written on it was minted on the coins.

Even in the legends there is a centuries-old repetitiveness of the representations: up to 1279 there is the inscription SENA VETVS on the front and ALFA ET ω on the back, while from 1279 to the 16th century on the front SENA VET CIVITAS VIRGINIS and on the back field ALFA ED O PRINCIPIV ET FINIS (phrase of biblical origin).

[5] Following the victory of the Republic of Siena in the battle of Porta Camollia in 1526, the legends on the back will become MANVS TVE DOMINE FECERVNT ME and SALVAVIT NOS DESTERA TVA, respectively in the Sienese giulio coin and in the half-giulio.