Lombardy-Venetia 1838-M 1/2 sovrano Fr-741g
The first specimen was lot 3110 in Sincona sale 18 (Zürich, May 2014), where it did not sell. The catalog description[1] noted,
"1/2 Sovrano 1838. Mailand. Sehr schön-fast sehr schön. (Lombardy-Venetia, half sovrano of 1838, Milan mint, very fine or better.)"
This denomination was originally introduced for circulation in the Austrian Netherlands, where it was called the demi-souverain d'or. It was struck in Milan 1837-48 and in Venice in 1837-47. The kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia was assembled by the Austrians to provide a unified administration for the Italian territories under their rule. This comprised the former duchies of Milan and Mantua and the republic of Venice. Milan, under Spanish rule from the 1500's, fell to the Austrians in 1714 and held by them until 1797 when Napoleon seized it. Napoleon gave Venice (until then independent) to Austria as compensation for her loss of Milan and Belgium. The area passed back and forth between the French and Austrians until the Congress of Vienna in 1814-15, when Metternich awarded it to Austria. Austria ruled Venetia until 1866, when it passed to the new kingdom of Italy. The second specimen was lot 2331 in Künker sale 439 (Osnabrück, March 2026), where it sold for €2,200 (about US$3,027 including buyer's fees). The catalog description[1] noted,
"KAISERREICH ÖSTERREICH, Ferdinand I., 1835-1848. 1/2 Sovrano 1838 M, Mailand. 5,10 g Feingold. GOLD. Vorzüglich. Aus der Sammlung Kommerzialrat Dr. Herbert Wenzel, Wien. Exemplar der Slg. König Faruk von Ägypten, Auktion Sotheby & Co., Kairo, Februar 1954, Nr. 1024 (Lot). (empire of Austria, Ferdinand I, 1835-48, half souverain d'or of 1838, Milan mint. Ex-Farouk, Extremely fine.)"
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 5.67 g, 0.900 fine gold, .164 troy oz AGW, the first specimen 5.58 g.
Catalog reference: Schl. 336. Fr-741g; KM C20.2.
- 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.
- Gigante, Fabio, Gigante 2016: Catalogo Nazionale delle Monete Italiano Dal '700 All'Euro, 24a ed. Varese, Italy, 2015.
- Herinek, Gerhard, Austria Münzkatalog: Munzen ab 1745 und Banknoten ab 1759, 49. Auflage, Vienna: Christine Steyrer Verlag, 2022.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1801-1900, 9th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- Montenegro, Eupremio, Montenegro 2015: Manuale del Collezionista di Monete Italiane, 30 ed., Torino, Italy: Montenegro s.a.s., 2014.
- Veselý, Roman, Mince a medaile, 19. století, František II ab Karel I, Prague: Aurea Numismatika, 2020.
- [1]Numismatic Coins, Medals, & Banknotes: Auction 18, Zürich: SINCONA AG, 2014.
- [2]Künker, Fritz Rudolf, Horst-Rudiger Künker, Ulrich Künker and Andreas Kaiser, Frühjahrs-Auktion 439: Gold Coins from around the world, particularly Denmark, Habsburg, Malta and Saxony | German Coins after 1871 including Coins from the Collection of Jürgen and Erika Schmidt, Osnabrück: Fritz Rudolf Künker GmbH & Co., AG, 2026.
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