{{short description|Italian medieval silver coin}} {{about|the Italian coin|the surname|Soldo (surname)}} [[File:Ludovico Di Teck - Soldo.jpg|thumb|A soldo of the Patriarchate of Aquileia issued during the reign of Louis of Teck (1412–1420).]]
The '''soldo''' was an Italian silver coin, issued for the first time in the late 12th century at Milan by Emperor Henry VI.<ref>{{cite book|author1=David Murray Fox|author2=Wolfgang Ernst|title=Money in the Western Legal Tradition: Middle Ages to Bretton Woods|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VC3oCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA257|year=2016|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-870474-4|page=257}}</ref> The name derives from the late Roman coin ''solidus''.<ref>"[https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/soldo Soldo]". Merriam-Webster.</ref>
==History== [[File:2 soldi 1867 - Italy, Papal States, Pius IX.jpg|thumb|Copper 2 soldos 1867, Papal States]] {{see also|History of coins in Italy}} It quickly became widespread in Italy, where it was coined in Genoa, Bologna, and numerous other cities. In Venice, the soldo was minted from the reign of Francesco Dandolo onward, remaining in use also after the republic's dissolution in 1797 and during the Austrian occupation, until 1862. In the 14th century Florence, a ''soldo'' equaled {{frac|1|20}} of a ''lira'' and 12 ''denari''.<ref>{{cite book|author=Christopher Kleinhenz|title=Medieval Italy: An Encyclopedia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E2CTAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT267|date=2 August 2004|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1-135-94880-1|page=267}}</ref>
As time passed, the ''soldo'' started to be coined in billon and, from the 18th century, in copper. During the reign of Leopoldo II of Tuscany (19th century), it was worth three ''quattrini''. The Napoleonic reformation of Italian coinage (early 19th century) made it worth 5 ''centesimi'', while 20 ''soldi'' were needed to form a ''lira''.
The term, used in medieval times to designate the pay of soldiers, became its synonym in both Italian and German (as ''Sold'').
==See also== *History of coins in Italy
==References== {{reflist}}
== External links == * {{Commons category inline|Soldo}}
{{Historic Italian currency and coinage}} {{Shilling}} {{Portal bar|Money|Numismatics}}
Category:12th-century establishments in the Holy Roman Empire Category:Coinage of the Republic of Venice Category:Coins of Italy Category:Obsolete Italian currencies Category:Silver coins Category:Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor