The obverse has a bust of King Victor Emmanuel II surrounded by the Italian legend “VITTORIO EMANUELE II”. The date is at the bottom with the designer's surname FERRARS on the truncheon of the neck.
The reverse has the royal arms of Savoy, with the royal crown on the top. The legend “REGNO D'ITALIA” (Kingdom of Italy) circles at the top and the denomination L-20 is at the bottom.
Photo is illustrative!
Victor Emanuel (1820-1878) was king of Sardinia and upon Italian unification became king of Italy.
It was part of a system of gold and silver coinage in which the various units had the same weight and “fineness” as in the monetary systems of other European countries (France, Switzerland and Belgium), which in 1865 signed, along with Italy, an agreement establishing the Latin Monetary Union.
Gold weight: 5.806 g
Coin weight: 6.4516 g
Proof: 900
Denomination: 20 Lire
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20 mm
986
3.442g
