Italy Kingdom of Napoleon Gold Coins 40 Lire 1808
KINGDOM OF ITALY UNDER NAPOLEON I GOLD COINS 18O5-1814
Obverse: Head of Napoleon I., below, the date of the year of issue, and " M." (Mint-mark of Mantua), beneath.
Legend: " NAPOLEONE IMPERATORE E RE " (Napoleon, Emperor and King).
Reverse: Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Italy under Napoleon Bonaparte - The French eagle, with a shield upon its breast, draped with an order chain and star; a shield of pretence, bearing the iron crown of Mantua : behind the eagle are two " O spears in saltiere, the whole being displayed upon a mantle of ermine, draped from a crown ; beneath is the denomination: "40 LIRE."
Legend: " REGNO D'ITALIA " (Kingdom of Italy).
On the edge is inscribed: "DIO PROTEGGE LA ITALIA" (God protects Italy).
Weight: 199.123 grains.
Fineness: 900.
Kingdom of Napoleon Gold Coins
Coat of Arms of the Kingdom of Italy under Napoleon Bonaparte:
The arms show a Roman eagle as a supporter, on its breast a shield, with a silver pale charged with the blue Milanic serpent (spitting out - as it is originally meant - the first human). Both sides of the pale are divided horizontally. The upper right field shows the papal parasol with the keys of Saint Peter. The upper left shows the Venetian lion, but without bible and with a Phrygian cap (revolutionary symbol) on its head. The lower right quarter shows the white eagle of the house of Este (for Modena) and the lower left shows the arms of Piemonte, but under to the right charged with a silver tower (for Rovigo and Feltre). The shield is charged with an escutcheon showing the Iron Crown of Lombardy (with pinnacles) in a red border with silver rings. Around the shield is the order of the Legion d'Honneur. Above the eagle rises the Napoleonic star.
Kingdom of Italy under Napoleon
The Kingdom of Italy (Italian: Regno d'Italia; French: Royaume d'Italie) was a French client state founded in Northern Italy by Napoleon I, fully influenced by revolutionary France, that ended with his defeat and fall. It was governed throughout its existence by Napoleon's step-son, Eugène de Beauharnais, who served as Viceroy for his step-father.
The Kingdom of Italy was born on March 17, 1805, when the Italian Republic, whose president was Napoleon Bonaparte, became the Kingdom of Italy, with Napoleon I as King of Italy, and the 24-year-old Eugène de Beauharnais his viceroy. Napoleon I was crowned at the Duomo di Milano, Milan on May 26, with the Iron Crown of Lombardy. His title was "Emperor of the French and King of Italy" (French: Empereur des Français et Roi d'Italie), showing the importance of this Italian Kingdom for him.
Originally, the Kingdom consisted of the territories of the Italian Republic: former Duchy of Milan, Duchy of Mantua, Duchy of Modena, the western part of the Republic of Venice, part of the Papal States in Romagna, and the province of Novara.
After the defeat of the Third Coalition and the consequent Treaty of Pressburg, on May 1, 1806, the Kingdom was given by Austria the eastern and remaining part of the Venetian territories, including Istria and Dalmatia down to Kotor (then called Cattaro), even if it had to give Massa and Carrara to Elisa Bonaparte's Principality of Lucca and Piombino. The Duchy of Guastalla was annexed on May 24.
With the Convention of Fontainebleau with Austria of October 10, 1807, Italy ceded Monfalcone to Austria and gained Gradisca, putting the new border on the Isonzo River.
The conquered Republic of Ragusa was annexed in spring 1808 by general Marmont. That was the only time in modern history that Ragusa was united to Italy. On April 2, 1808, following the dissolution of the Papal States, the Kingdom annexed the present-day Marches. At its maximum extent, the Kingdom had 6,700,000 inhabitants and was composed by 2,155 communes.
The final arrangement arrived after the new defeat of Austria: Emperor Napoleon and King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria signed the Treaty of Paris on February 28, 1810, deciding an exchange of territories involving Italy too.
On rewards in Germany, Bavaria ceded southern Tirol to the Kingdom of Italy, which in its turn ceded Istria and Dalmatia (with Ragusa) to France, incorporating the Adriatic territories into newly created the French Illyrian Provinces. Small changes to the borders between Italy and France in Garfagnana and Friuli came in act on August 5, 1811.
In practice, the Kingdom was a dependency of the French Empire.
The Kingdom served as a theater in Napoleon's operations against Austria during the wars of the various coalitions. Trading with the United Kingdom was forbidden.
Currency
The kingdom was given a new national currency, replacing the local coins circulating in the country: the Italian lira, of the same size, weight, and metal of the French franc. Mintage being decided by Napoleon with an imperial decree on March 21, 1806, the production of the new coins began in 1807. The monetary unit was the silver lira, which was 5 grams heavy. There were multiples of 2 Lire (10 grams of silver) and 5 Lire (25 grams of silver), and precious coins of 20 Lire (6.45 grams of gold) and 40 Lire (12.9 grams of gold). The lira was basically divided in 100 cents, and there were coins of 1 cent (2.1 grams of copper), 3 cents (6.3 grams of copper), and 10 cents (2 grams of poor silver), but following the tradition, there was a division in 20 soldi, with coins of 1 soldo (10.5 grams of copper, in practice 5 cents), 5 soldi (1.25 grams of silver), 10 soldi (2.5 grams of silver), and 15 soldi (3.75 grams of silver).