Apr.] 



CHRONICLE. 



69 



Infant of Spain, Duke of Parnoa, 

 Placentia, Castro, &c. 



After a mature examination of 

 the decree of the 18th of August, 

 ISM, by which the French re- 

 stored the ancient monetary sys- 

 tem of the kingdom, common at all 

 times to our dominions on both 

 sides of the Faro (straits that 

 divide Sicily from the Continent), 

 and abolished the computation 

 by livres and centimes established 

 by them in 1811, we have seen 

 that its dispositions regarding the 

 gold coin, far from following had 

 overturned it, and that no other 

 system conformable to the sound 

 principles of political economy 

 had been substituted in its place. 

 Therefore, desirous to form a 

 monetary system complete in all 

 its parts, and founded on the 

 sacred principle of promoting the 

 prosperity of oUr beloved sub- 

 jects, and wishing likewise to 

 consolidate into one law that part 

 of the ancient ordinances which 

 we think worthy of being pre- 

 served, we have resolved, on the 

 proposition of our Minister of 

 Finance, and with the recommen- 

 dation of our Council of State, to 

 sanction the following law, which 

 we declare sanctioned accord- 

 ingly :— 

 Title I. — General Dispositions. 



Article 1 . The monetary unit of 

 our kingdom of the Two Sicilies, 

 by which prices and every species 

 of value in coin are computed, 

 has the name of a ducat fducatoj. 

 The matter of which it consists 

 is apiece of silver weighing 515 

 Neapolitan grains (acini), equal 

 to 416 lei-fjOOOth Sicilian grains 

 ^coc«;,or22 943-l,OO0thgramms, 

 and of the finentess of 833 l-3rd 

 parts of pure silver to 166 2-3rds 



of alloy; or in other words, 5-6ths 

 of pure silver and a 6th of alloy. 



2. The ducat is divided into 

 100 parts, which have the name 

 of grana in the part of our domi- 

 nions on this side the Faro, and 

 bajocchi on the other side. All 

 the divisions of the ducat below 

 ten centimes, or ten grana, have 

 their value represented in copper 

 coin. From ten centimes up- 

 wards their value is represented 

 in silver coin. The multiples and 

 sub-multiples in silver have always 

 the same title, and their weight 

 is geometrically proportioned. 



3. The allowable variation is 

 limited to 3-1, 000th parts, more 

 or less than the standard fineness. 

 Silver coin exceeding or falling 

 short of this standard more than 

 3- 1,000th parts, shall not be put 

 into circulation by the Mint. 



4. Silver coin shall not be 

 received by weight, nor can the 

 pieces be refused as falling short 

 of the standard, unless they are 

 visibly clipped, understanding by 

 that term an impairing of their 

 legal contour (contorno). 



5. All agio IS prohibited in the 

 exchange of silver pieces for 

 silver pieces, though not in the ex- 

 change of gold and silver coins 

 against each other respectively. 



6. Every grano in copper is 

 divided into ten parts. These 

 tenths in Naples receive the name 

 o( cavalli, and in Sicily are deno- 

 minated ^zcczo//. 



7. States the proportion of 

 Neapolitan acini, and Sicilian 

 cocci, in the grano. 



8. The gold coin has the cor- 

 respondent value which Govern- 

 ment authorizes, and that which 

 shall be subsequently coined will 

 be raised to the fineness of 996 



parts 



