Anyone Know about Italian Coins? 1922 C-20

tsacch

Anyone know about this Italian coin....I got in circulation in Italy when I was a kid....6th grade, now I am 39....it was not a specific pull, just one that came home to USA as did other coins/change. Any values, links or info would be appreciated.

lordmarcovan

That is a 20-centesimi piece, struck in nickel. It's cataloged as KM#44. The type was struck for circulation from 1908-1922 (With some special presentation pieces or something like that struck from 1926-35). All were struck at Rome, with the "R" mintmark.

I've always loved that design, which some collectors call "The Flying Nude".

The 1922-R, a common date, catalogs $0.50 in Fine, $1.00 VF, $3.00 XF, and $11.50 in UNC, in the 2004 Krause catalog. I would call yours a Fine.

So you might never get rich off that one, but I salute you for keeping it so long... it's a pretty piece, and was a nice circulation find!

tsacch

Thanks Lord, I was wondering about it for a while now, as a buddy saw it years ago and offered me $10 for it and I just never got around to looking it up to see if it was worth it..........its worth more to my head knowing i brought it her from dads old country.

thanks again.

tom

sumnom

I rather like this series as well. It's a beautiful design, both obverse and reverse. I have a nearly complete set. It seems I have a lot of sets like that.

tsacch

I wouldnt call mine sets, but i would call it a piggy bank, shaped like a devil sitting on a rock with the words, "root of all evil" painted on it.......coins from when i was in europe and canada as a kid......very fond memories

lordmarcovan

I come across those in bulk lots from time to time... always like 'em. That period was sort of a "golden age" for classical designs on Italian coins... the seated "Italia" 1-lira pieces from the same era are lovely coins.

Those 20-centesimi pieces, much like our own nickel 5-cent pieces, can sometimes be found with interesting die breaks and/or laminations.

If somebody offers you ten bucks for that coin again, take 'em up on it, but then again, since you've kept that so long, maybe it's worth more sentimentally. I too am 39 years old (or will be, on the 28th), and I started collecting around the same time you found that coin. It was a VG 1936 Mercury dime that launched my collecting habit (on Thanksgiving Day of 1976), and I still have that coin. Like your childhood keepsake, mine is only worth somewhere between fifty cents and a dollar, but I wouldn't sell it for a hundred bucks.

tsacch

Cool Rob, I actually started with the lincolns at around five years of age and was full blown into coins at 10.............the trip to europe was just the first taste of the dark side, which has been somewhat rekindled after many years on the shelf. The designs are often very artistic and I will hold all my treasures as they are in their bank untill i can pass them on to my kids.

lordmarcovan

BTW- nice pics. Good detail, there.

sumnom

The Italian designs from this period are fantastic. I am partial to the bumble bee myself.

JadeRareCoin

they sure don't make 'em like they used to..................

Lovely design.

tsacch

Thanks! Love my Ricoh RDC-7 for stills and macro, just not a good camera for stop action photography.......