Naples and Sicily 1735-FBA 60 grana
This specimen was lot 74030 in Stack's Bowers Collector's Choice sale (Costa Mesa, CA, February 2023), where it sold for $168. The catalog description[1] noted, "ITALY. Naples & Sicily (Naples). 1/2 Piastra (60 Grana), 1735-FBA DeG. Naples Mint. Carlo VII (future Charles III of Spain). NGC VF-30. Quite well worn, this highly used minor nevertheless remains seldom seen in fractional form, and still maintains an engaging depiction of the river god before a smoldering Mt. Vesuvius. From the David Sterling Collection." This type was struck 1734-36 and 1747-49 and is expensive in nice condition. It is often catalogued as a half piastra but we follow the SCWC in calling it a 60 grana. Charles of Bourbon, younger son of Philip V of Spain succeeded in conquering Sicily and Naples from the Austrians in 1734 and ruled the two kingdoms until 1759.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 12.8 g, silver, 35 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: KM-146.
- Fabrizi, Davide, Monete Italiane Regionale: Napoli, Pavia: Edizioni Numismatica Varesi, 2010.
- 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, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, February 2023 World Collectors Choice Online Auction, featuring the David Sterling Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2023.
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