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Italian 20 Lira Umberto I

In Stock
If you would like to own a piece of 19th century Italy, a period marked by remarkable ... read more
We sell We buy Spread
1-9
494,62 €
446,50 € 9.73%
10-19
492,80 €
446,50 € 9.40%
20+
490,98 €
446,50 € 9.06%
The photos are used for illustration purposes only and may not be an exact representation of the product.

Introduction

If you would like to own a piece of 19th century Italy, a period marked by remarkable cultural changes and fascinating shifts in power, then Tavex is pleased to present a truly intriguing specimen, the 20 lira Umberto I gold coin. The 20 lira gold coin embodies the history of the House of Savoy, one of the oldest royal families in the world, and their quest to conquer and unify the once divided Italian peninsula under one rule. These gold coins, besides telling the gripping history of Italy’s transformation into a unified Kingdom, also mark the first consolidation of the country’s coinage in more than 300 years.

It can therefore been seen that the Italian 20 lira is well suited for coin collections, and, despite their relative scarcity, they are still favourably priced, making them likewise an ideal investment for those who wish to store their wealth in physical gold coins.

Why Buy

  • 20 lira Umberto I gold coins are well suited for collections. The relatively low mintage and their representation of the rich and colourful history of Italy make the 20 lira gold coins popular with collectors and numismatists.
  • 20 lira Umberto I gold coins are money. They are exempt from Value Added Tax, and are exchangeable throughout Europe by bullion dealers and investors alike.
  • 20 lira Umberto I gold coins were part of Europe’s first monetary union. The 20 lira gold coins were Italy’s monetary symbol of stability, uniformity and trust, making them an integral part of the Latin Monetary Union, Europe’s first major currency union.
  • 20 lira Umberto I gold coins are an excellent way to diversify your portfolio. Gold’s low correlation with other financial assets makes the Italian 20 lira gold coin serve as a portfolio hedge against market risk.
  • 20 lira Umberto I gold coins are the equivalent of savings. Italian 20 lira gold coins are an ideal choice for any long-term saver who appreciates the security and stability of owning physical gold coins.

Buying gold items means low risks and maintaining wealth

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  • Product value (1pc)
    494,62 €
  • Buyback price
    446,50 €
  • Your risk now
    48,12 €

Fact: gold price in EUR has risen 163.74% in the last 10 years. The lowest price was 910,69 EUR/oz and the highest 2434,57 EUR/oz. Current world market price is 2417,70 EUR/oz

History

The House of Savoy and the Italian 20 lira gold coin

The creation of the Italian 20 lira gold coin can be attributed to one of the oldest royal families in the world, namely the House of Savoy. The heritage of the House of Savoy began almost a millennium ago in a small alpine territory between Switzerland, France and Italy. What is of peculiar interest is that over the centuries that followed, the House of Savoy did not expand its territories through traditional means, in other words conquest by brute force, but rather by making advantageous marriages and fostering alliances. Although the dynasty lost its territories several times to larger regional players like, for example, Napoleon Bonaparte, it always miraculously managed to gain back its land and even some more.

In the early 19th century, Italy was part of the French Empire, but because of Napoleon’s defeat at the decisive Battle of Waterloo, the Empire fell, and French rule over Italy was relinquished. Italy was divided into regions, with many becoming satellite states of Austria, as a reward for Austria’s participation in the Napoleonic wars. The House of Savoy was more fortunate in Italy’s break up, receiving autonomous rule over the Island of Sardinia and the north-western part of Italy bordering France. The new region was referred to as the Kingdom of Sardinia and became one of the three largest regions in Italy.

The disunited Italy had no central government or strong army, just as Austria had planned, enabling Austria to more easily indirectly govern a large part of Italy’s territories. Not surprisingly, by the middle of the 19th century, a strong revolutionary movement was born, comprised of nationalists who wished to unify Italy. Following several rebellions in major Northern Italian cities against Austrian rule, the Kingdom of Sardinia, eager to expand its territories, decided to declare the First Italian War of Independence against the Austrians. Unfortunately for the revolutionaries, the campaign came to a quick end after several decisive defeats to the Austrian forces. 

Bruised, but not beaten, the Kingdom of Sardinia, with Vittorio Emanuele II (Umberto’s father) at the helm, tried again a decade later by declaring the Second Italian War of Independence against the Austrians in 1859. This campaign proved more successful, partially due to the military support provided by Napoleon III of France and the stronger and more organised nationalist movement led by the infamous Italian revolutionary Giuseppe Garibaldi. After two bloody years, Vittorio Emanuele II managed to secure all parts of Italy except for Rome and the Venetian region in the northeast. Subsequently, in 1861, the Kingdom of Italy was proclaimed, with King Vittorio Emanuele II as the sovereign. To mark the almost five decade quest of unifying Italy, the gold lira was introduced, bearing the effigy of the victor, King Vittorio Emanuele II, and the royal arms of his dynasty, the House of Savoy. Many considered King Vittorio the “Father of the Fatherland” because of the role he played in Italian unification. Although not the only person to be responsible for Italy’s unification, he certainly proved to be a great diplomat and military strategist. King Vittorio Emanuele II would reign firmly over Italy until his death in 1878, when the throne was passed on to his son Umberto I.

The lira gold coins unify Italy’s coinage

The House of Savoy not only managed to unify Italy, but also managed to unify the country’s coinage. Before unification, the custom was for every larger region to issue its own circulating coinage. As an example, the Papal States, part of Italy ruled by the Pope, used scudos, the Kingdom of Naples traded with piastras, Lombardy-Venetia minted florins, and the Kingdom of Sardinia issued liras. The new gold liras were a continuation of the currency used by the Kingdom of Sardinia. The reason for selecting the Sardinian lira was the fact that it had already been unified in 1816 to equal the French gold franc in terms of fineness and weight. This enabled it to circulate inside France at parity with the franc, as did the franc inside the Sardinian Kingdom, thus making it easier to trade and exchange goods. Furthermore, the French gold franc was, at the time of Italy’s unification of coinage, a major regional currency, so the decision to base the lira on the French franc made even more sense. The new uniformity of the gold lira fostered trade inside Italy and likewise contributed to making Italy one of the founding members of Europe’s first major currency union, the Latin Monetary Union.

The Italian 20 lira gold coin was part of Europe’s gold standard

In 1865, Italy, France, Belgium and Switzerland founded Europe’s first major currency union under the name “Latin Monetary Union”. This union was an attempt to unify the respective countries’ money into a single uniform currency. The founding members of the union agreed on a uniform fineness and weight of their coinage, which was set to equal the French silver and gold franc, as the Kingdom of Sardinia had done 50 years previously, and they agreed to interchange each other’s gold and silver coinage at parity, irrespective of whether it carried another design, effigy or name. The ratio of the two precious metals was likewise standardised, with 4.5 grams of silver being equal to .290322 grams of gold, a ratio of 15.5 to 1. The standardisation facilitated and simplified trade among the member countries and was seen as an appealing concept, leading other European countries to join as well. Although the union came with numerous flaws, one of them being that individual governments over-issued paper notes above the stipulated fixed ratio that was set between paper notes and circulating precious metal coinage, they were all the consequence of poor human judgement rather than the failure of the uniform precious metal coinage itself. Nevertheless, the union expanded until the advent of World War I, and came to a formal end a decade later in 1927.

The Italian 20 lira gold coin and King Umberto I

As all royals of the House of Savoy, Prince Umberto I received the best possible education. Yet, despite being well educated, it was expected of him to have a military career, especially considering that the revolutionary war to unite Italy at that time was still ongoing. He began his carrier as a captain in the Sardinian army where, alongside his fellow soldiers, he fought several decisive battles against the Austrian forces during the second and third Italian war of independence. His heroic gallantry in many of the battles earned him several decorations and good standing with his citizens.

Following the death of King Vittorio Emanuele II in 1878, Prince Umberto I became the second King of unified Italy. Some would say that his reign was a controversial one. On one hand, he became referred to as the “good king” because he showed concern and empathy for the common person several times during his reign. For instance, when massive flooding struck Venice, he himself went to the affected areas to organise the relief work. Likewise, when a disastrous earthquake destroyed the Italian town of Casamicciola in 1883, King Umberto again became involved, offering both financial and personal aid. He offered similar assistance one year later when a cholera epidemic broke out in southern parts of Italy. On the other hand, King Umberto I was highly disliked by those in leftwing circles. His unpopularity with this group could partially be explained by his colonial endeavours in Africa, which were to some extent a failure, and because his rule was associated with the rise of conservative elements in the Italian government.

King Umberto I’s rein ended in 1900 when an Italian anarchist assassinated him in retribution for his handling of the Milan uprising. In an attempt to restore order in this uprising, an Italian general ordered his men to fire on the rioters. In the aftermath of the uprising, King Umberto decorated the general for successfully restoring order to the streets of Milan. Because of Umberto’s favourable treatment of the general, the anarchist decided to murder the king.

Despite Umberto’s being in office longer than his father, King Vittorio Emanuele II, the issuance of the 20 lira gold coins depicting his effigy was substantially lower. In fact, even though King Umberto I reigned until 1900, the last 20 lira gold portraying his effigy was minted three years earlier in 1897. 

Product weight in grams
6.4516
Gold weight in grams
5.80644
Fineness
900
Gold weight in troy ounces
0.18668
Diameter
21
Thickness
-
Face value description
20 lira
Manufacturer
Italy

Obverse

The obverse portrays the effigy of King Umberto I. The title “UMBERTO I RE D'ITALIA”, which translate as “Umberto I King of Italy”, surrounds his portrait. On the king’s neckline is the year of mintage and the signature of the master engraver “SPREANZA”. 

Reverse

The reverse contains the royal arms of the House of Savoy which are embellished with a crown on top and encircled by a wreath of leaves. The coin’s denomination in the centre, flanking the royal arms, is shown as “L 20”. The mint mark is engraved at the bottom of the coin.

Packaging

Each coin is individually packaged in a hard plastic capsule if desired.

Secure and Fast delivery by Omniva/Latvian Expressmail courier

Your order is fully insured and delivered by Omniva or Latvian Expressmail courier. After we have received your payment, the products will be dispatched within 24 hours. Delivery time is within 2–4 working days. The Omniva courier will contact you via phone. If you wish, you can also personally pick up your order at one of our offices in Riga the same day we receive your payment. In cases where we are unable to send your order right away, we will always inform you about the time delay.

Insurance

The package is fully insured and in the extremely unlikely event that the package is lost or damaged, we will re-ship the items or refund your money. Insurance costs depend on the value of your order (0,3% of the value).

Tracking

Once the products have been packaged and sent, you will receive instructions and a code to track the shipment.

Secure and fast delivery by Omniva/Venipak parcel machine system

Your order is delivered by Omniva or Venipak to the parcel machine you choose in the shopping cart. After we have received your payment, the products will be dispatched within 24 hours. Delivery time is within 2–4 working days. As soon as Omniva/Venipak deliver your order to the parcel machine, you will receive instructions by text message regarding the parcel machine. If you wish, you can also personally pick up your order at one of our offices in Riga the same day we receive your payment. In cases where we are unable to send your order right away, we will always inform you about the time delay.

Insurance

The package is fully insured and in the extremely unlikely event that the package is lost or damaged, we will refund the value of your order. Insurance is included in the delivery price.

Tracking

Once the products have been packaged and sent, you will receive instructions and a code to track the shipment.

Secure international delivery within Europe

Your order is delivered by an international shipping company (Omniva/UPS/EMS). After we have received your payment, the products will be dispatched within 24 hours. The delivery time depends on your location, but usually it is up to 7-14 working days. We can provide you with delivery by courier right to your door or you can pick up your order at the nearest post office. If you wish, you can also personally pick up your order at one of our offices in Riga the same day we receive your payment. In cases where we are unable to send your order right away, we will always inform you about the time delay. We hold the right to cancel your order if delivery to your destination is not possible because of any additional risks, tax or other local law restrictions.

Insurance

The package is fully insured and in the extremely unlikely event that the package is lost or damaged, we will re-ship the items or refund your money. Insurance costs depend on the value of your order (0,3% of the value).

Tracking

Once the products have been packaged and sent, you will receive instructions and a code to track the shipment.

Expected shipping cost

Tavex offers easy and secure shipping for all online orders. Take a look at the expenses.

Vast Stock Availability

The majority of Tavex’s products are always in stock and therefore Tavex can offer you quick delivery and same day pick-up with market leading prices. Tavex is an official partner of all the biggest mints in the world, such as the Perth Mint Australia, the Austrian Mint (Münze Österreich), China Great Wall Coins Investments Ltd., the gold bar market leader PAMP Suisse and Valcambi and other gold factories and dealers.

Same day pick-up and fast delivery

If you purchase gold online we can send out the products on the same day we receive the payment. So You will get purchased products during 1-3 days after payment received.
Feel free to visit our offices in Riga, Latvia during opening hours to have a free consultation or learn more about a specific product.

Low prices

Over 25 years on the market and large volumes have enabled us to offer you the best prices on the market. With Tavex, you can maximize return on your investment because of low margins and spreads.

Item in Stock

This item is in stock and ships right after payment is made. Feel free to use self-pickup option from our offices in Riga, Latvia.

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