Lombardy-Venetia 1831-M 1/2 sovrano Fr-741d
This specimen was lot 1167 in Stacks-Bowers NYINC sale (New York, January 2015), where it did not sell. The catalog description[1] noted, "ITALY. Lombardy-Venetia. 1/2 Sovrano, 1831-M. NGC MS-62. Bright with great eye appeal." 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 1820-31, Vienna 1822-3 and 1831 and in Venice in 1822-23. 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.
Recorded mintage: unknown.
Specification: 5.67 g, 0.900 fine gold, .164 troy oz AGW.
Catalog reference: Fr-741d; C-10.1; Mont-336; Gig-24.
- 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]Ponterio, Richard, The January 2015 NYINC Auction: Ancient Coins, World Coins & Paper Money, Featuring the John W. Adams and Ray Czabor Collections, Irvine, CA: Stack's Bowers LLC, 2014.
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