Sardinia 1825(t) L 5 lire
This specimen was lot 1054 in Stephen Album internet sale 28 (Santa Rosa, CA, July 2024), where it sold for $192. The catalog description[1] noted, "ITALIAN STATES: SARDINIA: Carlo Felice, 1821-1831, AR 5 lire, 1825, initial L, deeply toned obverse, uneven reverse toning, VF-XF." The Duchy of Savoy was an Italian state wedged between France and Milan and was often the victim of invasions from both directions. In 1720, the duke acquired the island of Sardinia and promoted himself to king of Sardinia. In 1799, king Carlo Emanuele IV was evicted by Napoleon and the region converted to the Ligurian Republic then annexed to France. Sardinia did not recover her independence until 1815. The king was rewarded by Metternich with the republic of Genoa, which he added to his territory and opened a branch mint there in addition to his existing mint at Turin. The Turin mint used an eagle's head (shown here) as a mintmark while coins struck at Genoa sported an anchor. This is a scarce date; the Genoa product is rare.
Recorded mintage: 394,733 plus 17,183 from Genoa.
Specification: 25 g, 0.900 fine silver, 37 mm diameter, lettered edge.
Catalog reference: Dav-135; KM 116.1 (formerly C105.1).
- Davenport, John S., European Crowns and Talers, Since 1800, 2nd Ed., London: Spink & Son, 1964.
- Gigante, Fabio, Gigante 2016: Catalogo Nazionale delle Monete Italiano Dal '700 All'Euro, 24a ed. Varese, Italy, 2015.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- Montenegro, Eupremio, Montenegro 2015: Manuale del Collezionista di Monete Italiane, 30 ed., Torino, Italy: Montenegro s.a.s., 2014.
- [1]Album, Stephen, Joseph Lang, Paul Montz, Michael Barry and Norman Douglas Nicol, Internet Auction 28, Santa Rosa, CA: Stephen Album Rare Coins, Inc., 2024.
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