Sardinia 1835(g) P lira
This specimen was lot 3044 in Sincona sale 83 (Zürich, May 2023), where it sold for 225 CHF (about US$301 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted, "House of Savoy / Sardinia, Carlo Alberto, 1831-1849. 1 Lira 1835, Genova. Nur 22'909 Exemplare geprägt. Sehr schön (Only 22,909 pieces struck, Very fine)." 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 as a mintmark while coins struck at Genoa sported an anchor, shown here. While the five lire and gold twenty lire appear frequently, the minors are very rare.
Recorded mintage: 22,909.
Specification: 5 g, 0.900 fine silver, 23 mm diameter, this specimen 4.98 g.
Catalog reference: KM 129.2, Mont. 173. Pagani 297.
- 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]Richter, Jürg, SINCONA Auction 83, World and Swiss Coins and Medals, Zürich: SINCONA AG, 2023.
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