Naples and Sicily 1838 5 grana
The first specimen was lot 2887 in Stephen Album sale 41 (Santa Rosa, CA, September 2021), where it sold for $120. The catalog description[1] noted, "NAPLES & SICILY: Ferdinando II, 1830-1859, AR 5 grana, 1838, lustrous, NGC graded MS61." The Bourbons of Naples were generally despised and ridiculed as incompetent. There was discussion at the Congress of Vienna of allowing Joachim Murat to keep the throne but when he threw in his lot with Napoleon during the Hundred Days, he was captured and shot. After the collapse of Napoleon, king Ferdinand was restored in 1815. The Bourbons would rule until 1860. This scarce type was struck 1836, 1838, 1844-47.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 1.15 g, 0.833 fine silver, 16.5 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: KM-326.
- 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.
- Fabrizi, Davide, Monete Italiane Regionale: Napoli, Pavia: Edizioni Numismatica Varesi, 2010.
- [1]Album, Stephen, Joseph Lang, Paul Montz, Michael Barry and Norman Douglas Nicol, Auction 41, featuring the Dick Nanta Collection of Giray Khans, Part II, the Charles Opitz Collection of Ethnographic Money, Part II, and the Allan F. Pacela Collection of Chinese Coins. Santa Rosa, CA: Stephen Album Rare Coins, Inc., 2021.
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