Italy 1814-M 10 soldi
This specimen was lot 1863 in Künker sale 263 (Osnabrück, June 2015), where it sold for €120 (about US$155 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"LOMBARDEI Napoleon I. 1805-1814. 10 Soldi 1814, M, Mailand. Vorzüglich. (kingdom of Italy, Napoleon, 1805-14, ten soldi of 1814, Milan mint, extremely fine.)"
The issues of the Napoleonic kingdom of Italy were meant to match the French franc Germinal. Thus, the silver lira was 5 g, 0.900 fine silver, just like the French one franc. The lira was divided into twenty soldi, so the ten soldi (shown here) matched the French half franc. Ten soldi were minted at Milan 1808-14 and at Venice 1811-13 and at Bologna 1812-13. We don't know why a fifteen soldi was considered necessary.
Recorded mintage: 450,000.
Specification: 2.5 grams, 0.900 fine silver, .072 troy oz ASW.
Catalog reference: Pagani 58, KM-C6.1.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th 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]Künker Münzauktionen und Goldhandel, Catalog 263, The Friedrich Popken collection of gold and silver coinages | Coins and Medals from Medieval and Modern Times, a. o. the collection of Ernst Otto Horn, part III, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2015.
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