Lombardy-Venetia 1837-V lira
This specimen was lot 1679 in Künker sale 293 (Osnabrück, Germany, July 2017), where it sold for €2,000 (about US$2,696 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"KAISERREICH ÖSTERREICH, Ferdinand I. 1835-1848. 1 Lira 1837, V, Venedig, für die Lombardei und Venetien. RR Sehr schön. (Empire of Austria, Ferdinand I, 1835-48, lira of 1837, Venice mint, for Lombardy-Venetia. Rare, very fine.)"
The kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia was assembled by the Austrians to provide a unified administration for the Italian territories under their rule. This comprised the former duchies of Milan and Mantua and the republic of Venice. Milan, under Spanish rule from the 1500's, fell to the Austrians in 1714 and held by them until 1797 when Napoleon seized it. Napoleon gave Venice (until then independent) to Austria as compensation for her loss of Milan and Belgium. The area passed back and forth between the French and Austrians until the Congress of Vienna in 1814-15, when Metternich awarded it to Austria. Austria ruled it until 1866, when it passed to the new kingdom of Italy. This type was issued from Venice 1837-44 yet is much scarcer than the lira of Francis I (KM C6.2). The denomination, worth one-sixth of a scudo, was last struck in 1858.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 4.33 g, 0.900 fine silver, .125 troy oz ASW.
Catalog reference: J. 256, KM C17.2.
- 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, Katalog 293: Münzen aus Mittelalter und Neuzeit u. a. die westfälischen Privatsammlungen Werner Bröker und Bernd Terletzki, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2017.
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