Emilia 1860-B 20 lire Fr-256
This specimen was lot 1112 in Sincona sale 50 (Zürich, October 2018), where it sold for 90,000 CHF (about US$108,558 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"Königreich. Vittorio Emanuele II Re Eletto, 1859-1861. 20 Lire 1860 B, Bologna. Von grösster Seltenheit. Nur 159 Exemplare geprägt. Fast vorzüglich. (kingdom of Italy, Victor Emanuel II, king elect, twenty lire of 1680, Bologna mint. Of the highest rarity. Only 159 pieces struck, About extremely fine.)"
This rare coin is a transitional issue as Italy was unified under the rule of the king of Sardinia, Victor Emanuel. By the end of 1860, all of Italy was under his sway except for the Papal States (annexed 1870) and Venetia (annexed 1866). Bologna was formerly a branch mint for the pope and Emilia is the portion of the Papal States directly east of Modena. As Emilia never really had an independent existence, we have filed this under Sardinia and the Papal States altho it is neither.
Recorded mintage: 159.
Specification: 6.45 g, 0.900 fine gold, this specimen 6.43 g.
Catalog reference: Mont. 104, Pagani 430, Fr-256, KM-15.
- Friedberg, Arthur L. and Ira S. Friedberg, Gold Coins of the World, From Ancient Times to the Present, 9th ed., Clifton, NJ: Coin and Currency Institute, 2017.
- Gigante, Fabio, Gigante 2016: Catalogo Nazionale delle Monete Italiano Dal '700 All'Euro, 24a ed. Varese, Italy, 2015.
- Montenegro, Eupremio, Montenegro 2015: Manuale del Collezionista di Monete Italiane, 30 ed., Torino, Italy: Montenegro s.a.s., 2014.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Richter, Jürg, Sincona Auction 51: Gold and Silver Coins and Medals; Coins and Medals from Switzerland, Zürich: SINCONA AG, 2018.
Link to: