Italy 1878-R 5 lire

from the Mountain Groan Collection

This type was struck at the Rome mint 1870-78 and at the Milan mint 1869-75 during the reign of Victorio Emanuele II of Italy. It is struck to the same standard as the contemporary French 5 francs. It is quite common. The earlier dates (1870-75) are quite scarce with the Rome mintmark. The denomination was terminated in 1879 when its legal tender provision was revoked in the Latin Monetary Union. Several countries, including Italy, were striking large numbers of silver crowns (worth about three francs in bullion) and redeeming them in France for five francs in gold.

Recorded mintage: 1,700,000.

Specification: 25 g, 0.900 fine silver, .723 troy oz ASW.

Catalog reference: KM 8.4, Dav-140.

Source:

• 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.

Link to:

• 1877-M 5 lire
• 1878 20 lire
• 1878 100 lire
• 1879-R 5 lire
• Coins and currency dated 1878
• return to coins of Italy