The piastra was the distinct currency of the

Kingdom of Sicily The Kingdom of Sicily ( la, Regnum Siciliae; it, Regno di Sicilia; scn, Regnu di Sicilia) was a state that existed in the south of the Italian Peninsula and for a time the region of Ifriqiya from its founding by Roger II of Sicily in 1130 un ...

until 1815. In order to distinguish it from the piastra issued on the mainland Kingdom of Sicily (also known as the

Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples ( la, Regnum Neapolitanum; it, Regno di Napoli; nap, Regno 'e Napule), also known as the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was ...

), it is referred to as the "Sicilian piastra" as opposed to the "Neapolitan piastra". These two piastra were equal, but were subdivided differently. The Sicilian piastra was subdivided into 12 ''

tarì A tarì (from Arabic طري ''ṭarī'', lit. "fresh" or "newly minted money") was the Christian designation of a type of gold coin of Islamic origin minted in Sicily, Malta and Southern Italy from about 913 to the 13th century. History In ...

'', each of 20 ''grana'' or 120 ''piccoli''. The '' oncia'' was worth 30 tarì (2½ piastra). In 1815, a single piastra currency was introduced for the

Kingdom of the Two Sicilies The Kingdom of the Two Sicilies ( it, Regno delle Due Sicilie) was a kingdom in Southern Italy from 1816 to 1860. The kingdom was the largest sovereign state by population and size in Italy before Italian unification, comprising Sicily and al ...

, the Two Sicilies piastra.

Coins

In the late 18th century, coins were circulating in denominations of 3 piccoli, 1, 2, 10 and 20 grana, 2, 3, 4 and 6 tari, 1 piastra and 1 oncia. These were struck in copper up to the 2 grana, with the higher denominations in silver. In 1801, copper 5 and 10 grana were introduced, followed by a gold 2 oncia in 1814. Following the adoption of the unified currency for the two Sicilies, copper coins were issued in 1835 and 1836 bearing the name "Siciliana", in denominations of ½, 1, 2, 5 and 10 grana. It is unclear whether these coins were denominated in Two Sicilies grana or the old Sicilian grana (worth half as much).

Riveli

From a Riveli in 1607

Catania Catania (, , Sicilian and ) is the second largest municipality in Sicily, after Palermo. Despite its reputation as the second city of the island, Catania is the largest Sicilian conurbation, among the largest in Italy, as evidenced also b ...

, also a Riveli in 1811

Avola Avola (; scn, Àvula/, becoming / if preceded by vowel; la, Abola) is a city and in the province of Syracuse, Sicily (southern Italy). History The foundation of the city in an area previously inhabited by the Sicani and invaded by the Si ...

, the Sicilian money system can be readily extracted. It was:- :1 onze = 30 Tari, 1 Taro = 20 Grani, 1 Grano = 6 piccioli. On both of these historic documents, the denomination piastra was not used. A Sicilian coin commonly available for sale today is the 120 grana silver piece, weighing an ounce. It is called, in the supplementary description of this silver piece, one piastre. However in 1823 George Crabb, in his ''Universal Technological Dictionary'' Volume 2, in addition to supporting the above relative values of onze, tari and grani in accounting, lists 120 grani as equivalent to one florino. Crabb also lists the ponto, the carlino, the

ducat The ducat () coin was used as a trade coin in Europe from the later Middle Ages from the 13th to 19th centuries. Its most familiar version, the gold ducat or sequin containing around of 98.6% fine gold, originated in Venice in 1284 and gained ...

and the scudo or crown and their equivalence to the grano, however no mention of the piastre.

References

* {{refend Currencies of Italy Modern obsolete currencies Kingdom of Sicily 1815 disestablishments