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| Italian States Sardinia 5 Lire Silver coin, Charles Albert as King of Sardinia |
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| 5 Lire Silver coin |
Italian coins, Italian Coinage, Italian silver coins, Numismatic Collection, Coins of Italy best silver coins for investment.
Legend: CAR . ALBERTVS D. G. REX SARD. CYP. ET HIER. 1828
Reverse: Crowned Italian shield inside order chain and wreath.
Legend: DVX SAB. GENVAE ET MONTISF. PRINC. PED. &. L. 5 (P) (Anchor)
Mint Place: Genova (P, Anchor)
Reference: Pagani 233, KM-113.3.
Diameter: 37 mm; Weight: 24.85 gram of Silver (.900)
Sardinian lira
The lira (plural lire) was the currency of the Kingdom of Sardinia between August 6, 1816 and March 17, 1861. It was subdivided into 100 centesimi (singular centesimo) and was equal in value to the French franc (4.5 grams of silver), which had replaced the Piedmontese shield by 1801. Being no more than the Piedmontese version of the franc, it could circulate also in France, as the French coins could circulate in Piedmont. It was replaced at par by the Italian lira. As the great part of the 19th century currencies, it was not affected by significant episodes of inflation during all its existence.
In 1816, King Victor Emmanuel I issued silver 5 lire and gold 20 lire coins. Before his abdication in 1821, he also produced a new golden 80 lire coin.
King Charles Felix followed in 1821 and 1822 minting gold 40 and 80 lire, respectively. He also expanded the new currency in Sardinia which, not having been conquered by Napoleon, had retained its Sardinian shields. Silver 50 centesimi, 1 and 2 lire were added in 1823, followed by copper 1, 3 and 5 centesimi in 1826, and silver 25 centesimi in 1829.
Finally, King Charles Albert added new gold 10, 50 and 100 lire in 1832, while King Victor Emmanuel II continued his father's coinage.
On each coin, the ruling monarch was styled in Latin as King of Sardinia, Cyprus and Jerusalem by the Grace of God on the front side, and Duke of Savoy, Genoa and Montferrat, Prince of Piedmont et cetera on the back side.
Charles Albert - King of Sardinia (Carlo Alberto Amedeo; 2 October 1798 – 28 July 1849) was the King of Piedmont-Sardinia from 1831 to 1849. He succeeded his distant cousin Charles Felix, and his name is bound with the first Italian statute and the First War of Independence (1848–49). He abdicated in favour of Victor Emmanuel after his forces were defeated by the Austrian army at the Battle of Novara (1849), and died in exile soon thereafter.
The Kingdom of Sardinia (Regno di Sardegna, also known as Piedmont-Sardinia or Sardinia-Piedmont) consisted of the possessions of the House of Savoy from 1720 or 1723 onwards, following the award of the crown of Sardinia to King Victor Amadeus II of Savoy under the Treaty of The Hague (1720). This compensated him for the loss of the crown of Sicily to Austria and allowed him to retain the title of king, as the title "King of Sardinia" had existed since the 14th century. Besides Sardinia, the Savoyard state at that time included Savoy, Piedmont, and Nice; Liguria, including Genoa, was added by the Congress of Vienna in 1815. During most of the 18th and 19th centuries, the political and economic capital of the kingdom was Turin in Piedmont on the Italian mainland. In 1860, Nice and Savoy were ceded to France in return for French consent and assistance in Italian unification. In 1861, the Kingdom of Sardinia became the founding state of the new Kingdom of Italy, annexing all other Italian states. The Kingdom thus continued in legal continuity with the new Italian state, to which it transferred all its institutions.