Sardinia 1827(t) L lira
This specimen was lot 23111 in Stack's Bowers ANA sale (Las Vegas, August 2020), where it sold for $168. The catalog description[1] noted, "ITALY. Sardinia. Lira, 1827-L. Torino Mint. NGC AU-55. A sharply struck and pleasing example of the type with medium gray tone and no noticeable field marks." 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.
Recorded mintage: 836,545, highest mintage date.
Specification: 5 g, 0.900 fine silver, 23 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: KM-121.1.
- 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]Orsini, Matt, Richard Ponterio and Kyle Ponterio, The August 2020 ANA Auction: World Coins, featuring the Duke of Lansing Collection, Santa Ana, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2020.
Link to: