Italy 1 lira 1863 M - Victor Emmanuel II, arms of Savoy

The coin's story

This 1 lira coin in 835 thousandths silver belongs to the series struck from 1863 to 1867 in the name of Victor Emmanuel II, with the arms of Savoy on the reverse. Victor Emmanuel II, King of Sardinia who became the first King of Italy in 1861, reigned until his death in 1878. The Pepoli law of 24 August 1862 created the Italian lira, the single currency of the new kingdom, at par with the French franc, in 1865, Italy joined the Latin Monetary Union with France, Belgium and Switzerland. The King's portrait was engraved by Giuseppe Ferraris, whose name appears below the neck. The reverse shows the shield of Savoy under the royal crown, within a wreath of foliage, with the legend REGNO D'ITALIA (Kingdom of Italy). The value L.1 is placed between the letters M and BN of the Milan Mint, which struck 24,053,789 pieces in 1863. The edge repeats the motto of the House of Savoy, FERT.