On account of the name of the doge this coin was known as the Lira Tron for centuries. In its turn it underwent a ceaseless depreciation (see table on p. [318]).
In the middle of the sixteenth century there was so much silver in the Venetian Mint waiting to be coined for the merchants that the State, finding it could only issue 35,000 pieces a month, which, in small pieces of 442 soldi, would take a year to exhaust the stock, determined for the ease and encouragement of the merchants to issue a large silver piece, the ducato d'argento, 7 1⁄4 to the mark of silver by tale, and rated at 124 soldi.
Under Doge Nicoló da Ponte (1578-85) this piece
becomes the scudo d'argento, which begins in 1578 with an equivalence of 7 lira.
| In | 1578 | the scudo | was rated at | 7 | lira | 0 | soldi. |
| " | 1608 | " | " | 8 | " | 8 | " |
| " | 1621 | " | " | 8 | " | 10 | " |
| " | 1630 | " | " | 9 | " | 0 | " |
| " | 1635 | " | " | 9 | " | 6 | " |
| " | 1665 | " | " | 9 | " | 12 | " |
| " | 1702 | " | " | 10 | " | 0 | " |
| " | 1703 | " | " | 10 | " | 10 | " |
| " | 1704 | " | " | 11 | " | 0 | " |
| " | 1705 | " | " | 11 | " | 4 | " |
| " | 1706 | " | " | 11 | " | 8 | " |
| " | 1708 | " | " | 11 | " | 10 | " |
| " | 1709 | " | " | 11 | " | 12 | " |
| " | 1718 | " | " | 11 | " | 14 | " |
| " | 1739 | " | " | 12 | " | 8 | " |
On this basis the monetary system of Venice continued till the seizing of the Mint by the Democrats in 1797.
For several years, during which they held possession, they issued a coin called Tollero, of the nominal value of 10 Venetian lire, i.e. 5.16 Italian lire, but really only equal to 4.99 of the latter.
In 1802 the Italian Republic was erected by Buonaparte. The monetary law of the Republic, dated 30th April 1804, provided for the coining of a national money on a unit or basis of the silver lira, of the weight established by the law of 27th October 1803, namely, 4 deniers, and of .9 standard.
The unit gold coin to be 1⁄125 of the new established livre in weight (= 8 deniers), and of .9 standard, to equal 31 lire.