Italian Somaliland 1919-R rupia
The region of Somalia became of strategic importance for the European powers after the construction of the Suez Canal in 1869. The British were the first to occupy the region in force, followed by the Italians in 1895 who purchased the coastline south of British Somaliland from the sultan of Zanzibar. The British took control of the region during WWII, and eventually the British and Italian possessions were unified as an independent republic (1960). Somalia has proved to be virtually ungovernable as a nation, with the former British Somaliland breaking away again in 1991 and incessant civil conflict engulfing the remainder. This specimen was lot 57310 in Stack's Bowers NYINC sale (New York, January 2024), where it sold for $528. The catalog description[1] noted, "ITALIAN SOMALILAND. Rupia, 1919-R. Rome Mint. Vittorio Emanuele III. NGC MS-63." This type was struck 1910-15 and 1919-21 (1920, 1921 are rare). It had a face value of 1.66 lire.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 11.663 g, 0.917 silver, 0.3439 oz ASW, 30 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: KM-6.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- 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.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, January 2024 NYINC Auction, featuring the Emilio M Ortiz Collection and a Symphony of Russian Rarities, the Rothschild-Piatigorsky Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2023.
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