This sheet contains a full deck of Italy's most popular pattern, the Piacentine, printed by Edoardo Pignalosa. The size of the sheet is 52.5 x 38.5 cm (20¾ x 15¼ in). From the center of the country to its northern parts, these cards are used almost everywhere, sometimes as an alternative to local ones, but in many cases as a first choice. Therefore, they may be unofficially considered as Italy's national pattern.

		Although the Piacentine cards belong to the central-southern Italian patterns, they did not spring from the early Spanish ones, as all the others in this group, but from a peculiar French pattern called Aluette (whose ancestor, though, is Spanish, as well). Such different origin is testified by the richer details of the illustrations, which are more ornate than in any other Spanish-derived pattern.

Among typical details, the king of Coins holds an axe, a weapon sometimes carried by knaves in other patterns, but quite unusual for a monarch, except the same king of Coins in Aluette cards.

			The Piacentine pattern were originally single-headed, and remained so up to the 1930s-1940s. Then the double-headed version started encountering the players' favour. The traditional design was soon discontinued: already during the following decade the courts lost their legs. The name of the pattern refers to the city of Piacenza. In particular, Pignalosa's edition features the white and red coat of arms of this city on the 4 of Coins, whereas more famous modern manufacturers prefer to use the device of their own city or the firm's logo.

		The ace of Coins is the card that used to bear the tax stamp. The manufacturer's name is traditionally featured in the label below the large eagle; in this pattern Pignalosa's address is not mentioned. The backs of this sheet feature a black and white floral motif, and along the upper edge a short inscription contains the numbers 4 · 7 · 49, which might refer to a date (as in other sheets by Edoardo Pignalosa).

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