The Big Louis has arrived!
At last, on 20 August 2023, Ms Nina Dobler presented in Seborga the first banknote with a value of no less than 3 Louis.
The paradox is that this is a souvenir banknote, with no legal value, contrary to the official quotation on the Nasdaq (New York Stock Exchange) partner website where the luigino (SPL) is quoted daily along with all legal value banknotes.
See the site: https://www.xe.com/
Questo articolo intende proporvi un breve excursus sulle monete che in diverse modalità ed intenti si sono susseguite dal 1666 ad oggi nel territorio di Seborga.
PETIT LOUIS, the coin forged by the Benedictine monks of Seborga from 1666 to 1671
The Petit Louis minted in Seborga from 1666 to 1671 is only a historical fact. The monks of Seborga, in an attempt to deal with their accumulated debts, obtained from Louis XIV King of France the authorisation to issue their own coinage, and the name Petit Louis is precisely the diminutive of the French coinage Louis. In fact, the mint in Seborga lasted only three years; unfortunately, the coins did not have a sufficient quantity of silver and therefore deteriorated very quickly, so much so that only nine specimens remain today. For this reason, the French in 1671 were forced to inhibit the minting of new coins in the Principality of Seborga.
The Luigino travel cheque of George I minted since 1995
With the advent of the secular principality of George I, the issue of the coin that had historically been discontinued by the monks of Seborga in 1671 resumed, and from Petit Louis, it became the Luigino. The Luigino created by Giorgio Carbone is a coin of a strictly numismatic nature, so it would only have a collector’s value, but it is also used for purchases within the confines of the Municipality of Seborga in businesses that have decided to receive it in payment. Unfortunately, this travel cheque vocation of the Luigino has not been much appreciated by tourists who prefer to keep this coin as a souvenir rather than spend it in the conmmercial premises in Seborga. Some argue that the idea of minting this coin is not only a way to attract tourists’ finances, but also a fundamental part of the independence project promoted by the principality of George I. Although small European principalities have been recognised for at least a hundred years, they do not have a mint and coins are minted by neighbouring states.
SPL (Seborga Petit Louis) of Marcellus I, the ‘most expensive’ currency in the world since 2012
Prince Marcellus I succeeded George I in 2012 by appearing on the Dukascopy TV channel on the YouTube platform presenting the SPL (Seboga Petit Louis). This YouTube channel is operated by Dukascopy Swiss Banking Group, which has offices in Geneva, Riga, Hong Kong and Tokyo (https://www.dukascopy.com). Dukascopy’s main activity that they describe on their site is forex, i.e. foreign exchange in other words they promote investments in foreign currencies. Marcello Menegatto in this video is interviewed by the presenter of Dukascopy TV and declares the possibility of investing in the currency of the Luigino, thus transforming a numismatic currency (all metal) into a real currency quoted on the foreign exchange market, and setting the exchange rate of the Luigino exclusively with the American dollar equal to 6 dollars for one Luigno. This is in fact the highest exchange value in the world, even compared to those issued by recognised states. SPL is the abbreviation for the Seborga Petit Louis currency exchange, just as three letters abbreviate other imported currencies such as USD, EUR, GBP (British Pound Sterling), YPJ (Japanese Yen) and so on.
What currencies do small European states adopt?
We did a little research to find out which currencies the smallest states on the European continent have adopted over the last 100 years. Below is a small summary.
Principality of Andorra:
before 2002: Spanish Peseta and French Franc
after 2002: Euro
Principality of Monaco:
before 2002: French Franc and Monegasque Franc (numismatic and internal use in the Principality, exchange rate equal to the French Franc, minted in France and never quoted)
after 2002: Euro (through France)
Republic of San Marino:
before 2002: Italian lira, Vatican lira and San Marino lira (numismatic use, for trade in Italy, Vatican City and San Marino, minted by the Italian mint, same value as the Italian lira and never quoted)
after 2022: Euro (through Italy)
Vatican City:
before 2002: Italian lira, San Marino lira and Vatican lira (numismatic use, for trade in Italy, Vatican City and San Marino, minted by the Italian mint, same value as Italian lira and never quoted)
after 2022: Euro (through Italy)
Principality of Liechtenstein
since 1921: Swiss Franc and Liechtenstein Franc (numismatic use)
From this diagram we can see that although all these states have a highly developed banking system (think Liechtenstein, Andorra and San Marino) they have never minted a coin at their own mint in the last 100 years and have always used the currency of their main neighbouring state for foreign trade. So a somewhat destabilising thought arises. How is it possible that in Seborga, where there is not even an ATM through which a Swiss citizen can withdraw euro banknotes, there is instead an entity that issues its own currency and obtains the highest dollar rate in the world.
What Marcello I did not say about the SPL
We would like to preface this by saying that we have not found any information on the internet on how to do forex with SPL (Seborga Petit Louis), except for this Dukascopy TV video from 2013 in which investing in SPL (Seborga Petit Luis) is proposed, but that we do not get the decisive information to trade with peace of mind. We believe that Marcello Menegatto should have released this decisive information for investors’ choices. We all know that the issuance of a currency must be managed by an entity popularly known as the central bank, which guarantees and controls the issuance of the currency and the exchanges. For the Euro, this task is entrusted to the European Central Bank (ECB), as the Bank of Italy once was for the Lira. Knowing about the existence of this institution, the names of the people who run it and where it really is, would be the priority information also from a legal point of view. From this interview it would appear that SPL (Seborga Petit Louis) is indeed issued by an entity residing in the territory of Seborga and that it is an initiative of Marcello I.
We would like to conclude by taking up the interview with Marcello I with a piece of information given perhaps in error. Historically, the minting of the coin of Seborga ended in 1669 with the intervention of the French. In contrast, in the Dukascopy TV interview, the minting of the coin according to Marcello lasted for another 277 years! That is, until the establishment of the Italian Republic in 1946. At this point, we would like to ask Mrs. Nina Dobler, ex-wife of Marcello I and current princess of the principality of Giorgio Carbone, initiator of the reissue of the Petit Louis, to try searching in some drawer for Petit Louis coins dated between 1670 and 1946. And perhaps along with those coins you will also find the address of the central bank handling SPL.