Italy 5 Lire 1870 KM# 8.3

[Medalstrike]

Kingdom Italy
Vittorio Emanuele II.
5 Lire 1870 M BN
0.9000 Silver, 37mm, 25.0g
KM# 8.3

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Emmanuel_II_of_Italy

Dietmar

[chrisild]

An attractive coin! But that beard, uh ...

Christian

[Figleaf]

Crowned arms of the house of Savoy, therefore also the arms of Milano, their home base: a red cross on a white field.

This is a Latin Monetary Union convertible coin. In theory, Latin Monetary Union convertible coins could circulate in all Latin Monetary Union countries, a they contained the same amount of pure silver. In practice, since the Latin Monetary Union set a fixed administrative relation between silver and gold and between both metals and internal prices, Latin Monetary Union convertible coins were ideal vehicles for metal speculation. As a result, some pieces, like this one are abundant, while others, such as Swiss 5 franc pieces, are quite hard to find.

Peter