Italy 1814-M 40 lire
This specimen was lot 40238 in Ponterio sale 168 (Philadelphia, August 2012), where it sold for $1,150. The catalog description[1] noted, "40 Lire, 1814-M. NGC MS-61. Very scarce in mint state. Demarete Collection." 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 forty-lire piece matched the French forty francs and was struck in limited numbers 1807-14. Varieties exist in the style of the lower points of the standards on the reverse. Its smaller sister, the twenty lire piece, is much less often encountered.
Recorded mintage: 264,018[2].
Specification: 12.90 g, 0.900 fine gold, .373 troy oz AGW, lettered edge, 26 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: Fr-5; KM-12; Gig-79 or Gig-82; Mont-203.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Ponterio, Richard, Ponterio sale 168: The Official ANA Auction, Irvine, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2012.
- 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.
- [2]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.
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