Italy 1943-R lira
This specimen was lot 71130 in Stack's Bowers Collector's Choice sale (Santa Ana, CA, May 2018), where it sold for $95. The catalog description[1] noted, "ITALY. Lira, 1943-R. NGC MS-65. A better date of a type minted 1938-43, this one minted as Allied armies approached and Mussolini fled. This one is about as lustrous as a stainless steel coin can get." This type was struck for the kingdom of Italy 1936-43. Vittorio Emanuele III succeeded his father Umberto upon the latter's assassination in 1900, but by 1943 he was the helpless tool of the Fascists, whose symbol appears on the reverse. The issues of 1939-42 are readily available but the 1943 is scarce, stainless steel being needed for the war which Italy was losing.
Recorded mintage: 11,500,000.
Specification: 7.90 g, stainless steel.
Catalog reference: KM-77b; Mont-232.
- [1]Ponterio, Richard, Kyle Ponterio and Chris Chatigny, The May 2018 Collector's Choice Sale, Santa Ana, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2018.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th 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.
Link to:
- 1936 lira
- 1942 2 lire
- 1943 50 centesimi
- Coins and currency dated 1943
- return to coins of Italy