CLEANING UP THE GOLD AND SILVER TRADE
[GOLD and SILVER.]
Bando generale per gli orefici, argentieri, ed altri che comprano, vendono, ed in qualsivoglia modo maneggiano, e contrattano oro e argento in Roma, e nello Stato Ecclesiastico.
Rome, ‘nella stamperia della Rev. Camera Apostolica’, 1815.
Folio, pp. 32; with three woodcut coats of arms to title (of the Camera Apostolica, Pius VII, and Cardinal Bartolomeo Pacca); a very good, clean copy, uncut and unbound in folded sheets; ink note ‘7 Gennaro 1815’ at head of p. 32.
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Bando generale per gli orefici, argentieri, ed altri che comprano, vendono, ed in qualsivoglia modo maneggiano, e contrattano oro e argento in Roma, e nello Stato Ecclesiastico.
Rare edict governing goldsmiths, silversmiths, and traders in gold and silver operating in Rome and the Papal States, issued by Cardinal Bartolomeo Pacca (1756–1844) in January 1815 as Camerlengo to Pope Pius VII.
Superseding earlier legislation of 1752, this Bando was intended to combat the ‘intollerabili abusi’ which had arisen in gold and silver manufacturing and commerce. Its decrees detail the proper protocols for establishing a shop, registering with local authorities, and using official marks, including the maker’s initials and registration number, and a stamp with Papal tiara, keys, and wolf for gold and silver of higher purity. Much emphasis is placed on the quality of gold and silver, with penalties both financial and corporal for serious or repeat offenders.
The decrees further establish an ‘Ufficio del Bollo’ in Rome to assay all new gold and silver artefacts presented to the office, and to destroy any works found to be substandard. The assayers themselves were subject to strict regulation, with those found to be abusing their powers liable to up to ten years’ imprisonment. ‘Money changers, Jews, and junk-dealers’ are expressly forbidden from appraising, reworking, or restoring second-hand gold and silver goods coming into their possession, a privilege reserved for registered gold- and silversmiths alone.
No copies traced on OCLC or Library Hub. ICCU finds a single copy in Italy, at the Biblioteca dell’Accademia Georgica in Treia.