Grosso Public Deposited
An Italian silver coin, the name of which is an equivalent of the Gros, Groschen, and Groat; in fact the term Gros Tournois becomes the Italian Grosso Tornese.
It appeared in the fourteenth century and some varieties were current until the eighteenth. The value varied, the Grossi of Milan being worth from five to eight Soldi at different periods. There are multiples as high as eight Grossi, and the divisions were the Mezzanino or one half, the Quattrino or one quarter, and the Sesino or one sixth. See Matapan.
- Frey's Dictionary (American Journal of Numismatics, Vol. 50, 1916)