Italy 1872-R 100 lire
This specimen was lot 31226 in Heritage sale 3037 (New York, January 2015), where it sold for $25,850. The catalog description[1] noted, "Vittorio Emanuele II gold 100 Lire 1872-R AU58 PCGS, Rome mint. Bold and vibrant, this exceptional offering features lightly-toned, reflective surfaces in a desirable shade of harvest-gold. The fields contain a surprising amount of mint luster, as well as minor contact marks which are fairly common to the issue. Even so, this is an extremely rare and avidly-sought offering that has a mere mintage of just 661 pieces. One of the rarest European gold types from the 19th century, and highly alluring in this near-mint state designation. From The Empire Collection." This type was struck in Rome 1872 and 1878 and both dates are rare. The similar twenty lire (Fr-12) is common.
Recorded mintage: 661.
Specification: 32.25 g, .900 fine gold.
Catalog reference: KM 19.2, Fr-9, Mont-128.
- 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]Bierrenbach, Cristiano, Warren Tucker and Scott Cordry, Heritage Signature Auction 3037, featuring the Empire, the Santa Catarina, the Law and the Santa Maria Collections, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2014.
- 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.
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