Italy 20 Lira
(Victor Emanuele II)
Grade range: Almost Uncirculated/Uncirculated
Minted: 1861 – 1874
Actual Gold Content: .1867 troy ounce

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Italy 20 Lira Vittorio Emanuele Gold Coins are considerably scarcer than Umberto varieites, and generally only surface in small lots.  Though just over 10,000,000 were minted total during their 13 year production, only a fraction have survived into the modern era in collectible condition.  Such reality is evidenced by NGC’s suggested retail price of $700-$800 per coin in similar condition as those offered here.  The 20 Lira gold coins were minted to the Latin Monetary Union standard of .1867 ounces per coin, to facilitate cross border trade with the 20 Franc issues of other countries at that time (France, Switzerland, Belgium, etc.).

Victor Emanuele’s place in history is inextricably connected to that of Giuseppe Garibaldi, the Italian revolutionary leader with whom he collaborated to unite Italy under a single kingdom in the mid-19th century.  Prior to that, Italy was a loose confederation of states. Known among the Italian people as ‘the honest king,’ Victor Emmanuel became the symbol and central figure of the ‘Risorgimento,’ and spent the rest of his monarchy consolidating the new kingdom.