What the category brings together

Here are Italian collector gold coins, from the Middle Ages to today's euro issues. The main groups:

• Venice: ducats and zecchini of the doges, from Michele Steno (1400–1413) to Francesco Loredan (1752–1762), including Francesco Foscari, Nicolò da Ponte, Marino Grimani and Marcantonio Giustinian.
• Other pre-unification states: the ducat of the Roman Senate, the gold scudo of Ercole II d'Este struck in Reggio Emilia, the doppia of Philip II for Milan (1589), the Genoa doppia of 1603 and the 96 Lire of the biennial Doges (1796), the florin of Giovanni Gastone for Florence (1725), the 6 Ducats of Ferdinando IV and the 30 Ducats of Ferdinando I of Naples.
• Napoleon: 20 and 40 Lire of Napoleon I as King of Italy struck in Milan between 1808 and 1814, and the 20 Francs struck in Rome in 1813.
• House of Savoy before Unification: the doppia of Vittorio Amedeo III, the 20 Lire of Vittorio Emanuele I, the 40 Lire of Carlo Felice, the 20 and 100 Lire of Carlo Alberto struck in Turin and Genoa.
• Kingdom of Italy: the 20 Lire of Vittorio Emanuele II and Umberto I, the 20 Lire “Aquila araldica” and the 100 Lire “Vetta d'Italia” of Vittorio Emanuele III.
• Vatican and Republic: the 100 Lire 1937 of Pius XI, the 1950 set of Pius XII with the gold 100 Lire, the 10 and 50 Euro of the Vatican and the 20 Euro of the Italian Republic.

Ferdinando IV of Bourbon, King of Naples, reigned from 1816 as Ferdinando I of the Two Sicilies: the two names refer to the same sovereign. The coins are also in the categories by area: Italian Regional Coins, House of Savoy and Savoy - Kingdom of Italy.

Weight and fineness of the coins in lire

The gold coins in lire struck in Italy and in the pre-unification states up to 1927 have a fineness of 900 thousandths and a fixed weight for each denomination:

These figures do not apply to the gold coins of the 1930s, nor to ducats, zecchini, doppie and florins, which follow different systems. For these pieces you can ask for the figures with the “Ask about this piece” button.

How to choose

For a collector gold coin, the value does not depend only on the gold it contains. Two 20 Lire of the same weight can be worth very different sums: year, mint, rarity and how worn the coin is all count.

On the item pages the grade is given with codes: FDC Uncirculated, qFDC About Uncirculated, SPL Extremely Fine, qSPL about Extremely Fine, BB Very Fine, MB Fine. Rarity is written in words or with the R1–R5 scale of the reference catalogues. Hovering over the code shows its explanation. With the catalogue filters you can choose by period, grade, price and rarity.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference from investment gold?

Investment coins are valued mainly for the gold they contain and their price follows the gold price: you will find them in Investment Gold Coins, including the Italian 20 Lire without choice of year. Here you choose the individual piece, with year, mint and grade.

Can I have more photos or details?

Every item page has a photo of the piece for sale. For other details use the “Ask about this piece” button. You can collect your order free of charge in Verbania or Milan.

Do you buy Italian gold coins?

Yes. If you have coins to sell, write to us with a few photos or visit one of our two branches.