Mantua 1791 lira
This specimen was lot 4901 in Künker sale 441 (Osnabrück, March 2026), where it sold for €2,800 (about US$3,852 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"RÖMISCH-DEUTSCHES REICH, Leopold II., 1790-1792. Lira 1791, Mailand, für Mantua. RR Leicht justiert, vorzüglich-Stempelglanz. Aus der Sammlung Kommerzialrat Dr. Herbert Wenzel, Wien. Exemplar der Slg. Karl Hollschek, Austria in Nummis, 3. Teil, Wien, Juni 1957, Nr. 4100. (Holy Roman Empire, Leopold II, 1790-92, lira of 1791, Milan mint, for Mantua. Very rare, lightly adjusted, extremely fine to uncirculated.)"
The Austrians took over the duchy of Mantua in north Italy in 1707, on the extinction of the native dynasty, the Gonzagas. Coinage for the duchy was sporadic. There also a lira struck for circulation in Milan (KM 230) which weighed 6.25 g. This example realized nine times the catalog value.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 3.4 g, billon, 24 mm diameter, this specimen 3,46 g.
Catalog reference: KM 272, J. 101.
- Herinek, Gerhard, Austria Münzkatalog: Munzen ab 1745 und Banknoten ab 1759, 49. Auflage, Vienna: Christine Steyrer Verlag, 2022.
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- 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, Fritz Rudolf, Horst-Rudiger Künker, Ulrich Künker and Andreas Kaiser, Frühjahrs-Auktion 441: Orders and Decorations from the Estate of Wilhelm, Duke of Bavaria (1752–1837), among others | Coins and Medals from the Middle Ages and Modern times, particularly Denmark, Habsburg, Norway, and Saxony, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2026.
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