Sardinia 1859(g) P 5 lire
This specimen was lot 56857 in Stack's Bowers ANA sale (Pittsburgh, PA, August 2023), where it sold for $288. The catalog description[1] noted, "ITALY. Sardinia. 5 Lire, 1859-P. Genoa Mint. Vittorio Emanuele II. PCGS EF-40." The Turin mint used an eagle's head as a mintmark while coins struck at Genoa sported an anchor. This type, struck just before Victor Emanuel became king of Italy, is much scarcer than the preceding five lire of Carlo Felice (1821-31) or Carlo Alberto (1831-49). In 1859, Vittorio Emanuele annexed Lombardy; in 1860, Tuscany, Modena, Naples and most of the Papal States; in 1866, Venetia; and in 1870, the rest of the Papal States including Rome.
Recorded mintage: 48,637, a common date of a scarce type.
Specification: 25 g, 0.900 fine silver, 37 mm diameter, lettered edge.
Catalog reference: Dav-137; KM-144.2 (formerly C124.1).
- Davenport, John S., European Crowns and Talers, Since 1800, 2nd Ed., London: Spink & Son, 1964.
- 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, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, August 2023 Global Showcase Auction, World & Ancient Coins, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2023.
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