Vatican City 1941 lira
This specimen was part of lot 33801 in Heritage sale 3073 (Chicago, April 2019), which sold for $960. The catalog description[1] noted, "Pius XII 9-Piece Uncertified Mint Set Anno III (1941) UNC, 1) 5 Centesimi, KM22; 2) 10 Centesimi, KM23; 3) 20 Centesimi, KM24a; 4) 50 Centesimi, KM25a; 5) Lira, KM26a; 6) 2 Lire, KM27a; 7) 5 Lire, KM28; 8) 10 Lire, KM29; 9) gold 100 Lire, KM30.2. AGW 0.1502 oz.; KM-MS25. Mintage: 2000 Sets. A beautiful and choice set, the 5 and 10 Lire mottled with a pleasing russet cabinet tone. Sold as is, no returns. From the Engelen Collection of World Coinage." This type was issued 1940-41 for Pius XII, the second pope to rule over the newly independent Vatican City. It is scarce as the Rome mint had little resources to mint coins in the middle of World War Two.
Recorded mintage: 275,000.
Specification: 7.86 g, stainless steel, 26.5 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: Mont-597, KM 25a, Ber-3379.
- Berman, Allen G., Papal Coins, South Salem, NY: Attic Books, 1991.
- 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.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
- [1]Bierrenbach, Cristiano and Warren Tucker, Heritage World and Ancient Coins Auction 3073, featuring the Lake County Collection of British coins, Dallas, TX: Heritage Auction Galleries, 2019
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