Sardinia 1857(t) B 20 lire
The first specimen was lot 4103 in Goldberg sale 74 (Los Angeles, June 2013), where it sold for $333.50 including buyer's fees. The catalog description[1] noted, "Italian States - Sardinia. 20 Lire, 1857-B (Torino). Mint mark, Eagle head. Vittorio Emanuele II. NGC graded AU-55." The second specimen was part of lot 6811 in Stack's Bowers NYINC sale (New York, January 2017), which sold for $1,645. The catalog description[2] noted, "ITALY. Mixed Date 20 Lire, 1847-93. VERY FINE to UNCIRCULATED. Fr-21, 1142, 1146 & 1147. 7 pieces in lot. Mostly from Sardinia, but also includes a choice example from the Kingdom of Italy 1893. Some have been lightly cleaned otherwise problem free. The 1847 is toned and attractive." This type was struck at the Turin mint 1850-61 during the reign of Victorio Emanuele II of Italy, while he was merely King of Sardinia (1849-60). It is struck to the same standard as the contemporary French twenty francs. It is, however, reasonably common. The SCWC records this type from the Turin and Milan mints.
Recorded mintage: 67,415.
Specification: 6.45 grams, 0.900 fine gold, .186 troy oz AGW, 21 mm diameter, lettered edge.
Catalog reference: Fr-1146; KM 146.1 (formerly KM-C126.2); Pagani-351.
- Friedberg, Arthur L. and Ira S. Friedberg, Gold Coins of the World, From Ancient Times to the Present, 9th ed., Clifton, NJ: Coin and Currency Institute, 2017.
- 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.
- [2]Ponterio, Richard, The January 2017 NYINC Sale: Ancient Coins, World Coins & Paper Money, featuring the Richard Stuart Collection, Santa Ana, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2016.
- [1]Goldberg, Ira, Larry Goldberg and Steven Harvey, Goldberg Sale 74: the pre-Long Beach Sale, Los Angeles: Goldberg Coins & Collectibles, 2013.
Link to: