Savoy 1717 3 lira
This specimen was lot 1887 in Künker sale 263 (Osnabrück, June 2015), where it sold for €5,500 (about US$7,105 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"SAVOYEN Vittorio Amadeo II. 1680-1730. 3 Lire 1717, Turin. Prägung als König von Sizilien 1713-1718. Von großer Seltenheit in dieser Erhaltung. Attraktives, vorzügliches Exemplar. (duchy of Savoy, Victor Amadeo II, 1680-1730, three lire of 1717, Turin mint, struck with the title of king of Sicily. Very rare in this quality, attractive, extremely fine.)"
This north Italian state was wedged between France and Spanish Milan and was frequently invaded as a result. The duke received the kingdom of Sicily in 1713 in the partition of the Spanish Hapsburg holdings in Europe, which he traded to Austria in 1720 for the kingdom of Sardinia, which title he thereafter assumed. His descendants became kings of unified Italy in the next century. This rare type is not photographed in the SCWC.
Recorded mintage: 300,000 for 1717-18.
Specification: 18.05-18.3 g, silver.
Catalog reference: KM-368; Cudazzo 881 a (R4).
- Michael, Thomas, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1701-1800, 7th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2016.
- [1]Künker Münzauktionen und Goldhandel, Catalog 263, The Friedrich Popken collection of gold and silver coinages | Coins and Medals from Medieval and Modern Times, a. o. the collection of Ernst Otto Horn, part III, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2015.
Link to:
- 1718 lira
- 1740 2½ soldi
- Coins and currency dated 1717
- return to coinage of Italy, Sardinia