Italy 1909-R lira
This specimen was lot 7601 in Stack's Bowers NYINC sale (New York, January 2022), where it sold for $80. The catalog description[1] noted, "ITALY. Lira, 1909-R. Rome Mint. Vittorio Emanuele III. PCGS AU-58. A lovely, barely circulated example of the type with deep gray toning that shows a play of colors in the peripheries of both sides." This type was struck for the kingdom of Italy 1908-13. The weight and fineness matches that of a French franc. This denomination was struck to this standard until 1917, when the stress of wartime inflation forced the government to suspend production. When mintage of the lira resumed in 1922, it was a nickel coin. Vittorio Emanuele III succeeded his father Umberto upon the latter's assassination in 1900.
Recorded mintage: 3,475,000.
Specification: 5 g, 0.835 fine silver, lettered edge.
Catalog reference: KM-45; Gig-133; Pag-769.
- 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, The 2022 NYINC Sale: World and Ancient Coins, featuring the Mark and Lottie Salton Collection and the Pat Johnson Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2021.
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