Italy 1927-R 2 lire
This specimen was lot 75336 in Stack's Bowers Collector's Choice sale (Costa Mesa, CA, February 2024), where it sold for $600. The catalog description[1] noted, "ITALY. 2 Lire, 1927-R. Rome Mint. Vittorio Emanuele III. PCGS MS-62. A lovely Mint State example of this KEY DATE for the issue. Problem-free and elegantly pewter-gray in tone." This type was struck for the kingdom of Italy 1923-35. Vittorio Emanuele III succeeded his father Umberto upon the latter's assassination in 1900, but by 1926 he was the helpless tool of the Fascists, whose symbol appears on the reverse. The issues of 1923-26 are readily available but those of 1927-35 are rare, being struck for presentation only.
Recorded mintage: 1,632,000.
Specification: 10.07 g, nickel, 29.1 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: KM-63.
- 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, 1901-2000, 47th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, February 2024 World Collectors Choice Online Auction, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2024.
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