The 1 lira cent (Italian: centesimo di lira), commonly called centesimino, was the smallest denomination of Italian lira coins. Like the contemporary 1, 2 and 5 cent coins, it was made of a bronze alloy composed of 960‰ copper and 40‰ tin. The 1-cent coins were minted between 1861 and 1918, only to be withdrawn from circulation in 1924.
Origin
Napoleonic monetary reform In order to bring order to the French monetary system, on August 15, 1795, the National Convention introduced the use of the decimal base and bimetallism, a system that was not implemented until 1803 by Napoleon. The silver franc was adopted as the basic unit; multiples worth more than 5 francs were minted in gold, while copper was allowed to be used for cents.. Following the Italian campaign led by Napoleon, the Kingdom of Italy was born in 1805, which, being a de facto French dependency, assumed the new decimal-based monetary system.
The Italian lira was then created, a currency totally equivalent to the French franc and therefore usable in both France and Italy. The coin, which represented the hundredth part of the lira, was minted starting in 1807 in the mints of Bologna, Venice and Milan, which in particular also became the mint where all the coinage of the kingdom was prepared. The coin weighed 2.1 g, had a diameter of 19.5 mm and was composed of a 950‰ copper alloy..
The cent was officially minted until 1813, but its issuance probably continued after the Battle of Waterloo; due to the lack of new coinage, the Austrians continued to use the Milan mint until 1819 to issue the Napoleonic copper and silver coins.
The Restoration With the restoration of the European monarchies, Napoleonic reforms were also abolished in the monetary sphere. The Austrian Empire, which ruled northern Italy with the Lombardy-Venetia Kingdom, replaced the Napoleonic lira with the Austrian lira, a currency in dual circulation and pegged to the Austrian florin. Like the florin, the new lira did not follow the decimal base: its multiples were the scudo and the sovereign, worth 6 and 40 Austrian lira, respectively. Despite this, the submultiples of the lira followed the decimal base; just as the florin was divided into 100 soldi, the lira also consisted of 100 cents.. Due to this monetary system, starting in 1822 in the mints of Milan and Venice, the minting of 1-cent coins of the Austrian lira, which had different measurements from the Napoleonic ones, was started. These coins entered circulation following a regime of forced tender; therefore, it was not possible to convert them into gold or silver, and furthermore, payment between private individuals with this currency was limited to a quarter of a lira. Despite the Restoration and the abolition of the Napoleonic reforms, some Italian states continued to use the decimal monetary system; among them was the Kingdom of Sardinia under Victor Emmanuel I. In the Kingdom of Sardinia, the minting of 1 lira cent copper coins began in 1826 under Charles Felix; the coin had different characteristics from the Napoleonic coin: it weighed 2 g and had a diameter of 19 mm. During the reign of Charles Albert, between February 22, 1847, and May 15, 1848, Carlo Felice's coinage was reused to make up for the lack of loose change, while with Victor Emmanuel II no coins of this denomination were issued until the founding of the Kingdom of Italy. In 1842, 1-cent coins of 15 mm in diameter and 1 g in weight were minted for circulation in Sardinia, measures that would later be adopted in what would become the Kingdom of Italy.
In addition to the Kingdom of Sardinia, the Duchy of Parma and Piacenza also retained the Napoleonic decimal system, and in 1830, during the reign of Marie Louise of Austria, 2029360 1-cent coins were minted with the same characteristics as those of the Kingdom of Sardinia. This coin was also minted in 1854 with the effigy of Charles III in only 300000 examples, of which 20 are supposed to have survived.
The unification of Italy When the revolution of 1848 was over, the Lombardy-Venetia Kingdom came under the rule of the revolutionaries, and the Provisional Government of Milan and the Republic of San Marco were born. Following these events, the Kingdom of Sardinia began the first war of independence, and the two newly formed revolutionary governments replaced the Austrian lira with a new coinage based on the Savoy lira. In particular, the Republic of San Marco, with Decree No. 565 of January 15, 1849, minted 2760000 1-cent coins of the current lira in the Venice mint, with different measurements than the Savoy lira; the coin, although made of copper, was 18 mm in diameter and weighed 1 g.. The Risorgimento came into full swing when the insurgent Legation of Romagne between 1859 and 1860, in order to avoid continuing to use the papal coinage, began minting 1-cent coins reusing Carlo Felice's old 1826 coinage. The provisional government of Tuscany also minted new coinage and so in 1860 commissioned the Ralph Heaton Firm of Birmingham to mint new 1-cent coins bearing the year 1859, using the Sardinian format of 1842.
Kingdom of Italy
Victor Emmanuel II Following the Second War of Independence and the union of Lombardy with the Kingdom of Sardinia, which took place on November 10, 1859, with the Treaty of Zurich, Victor Emmanuel II's finance minister, Giovanni Battista Oytana, intervened in order to unify the Italian monetary system. With the issuance of Royal Decree No. 3773 of November 20, 1859, it was decreed that the pre-unification copper and bronze coins be withdrawn from circulation and replaced with new 1, 2 and 5 cent coins bearing the portrait of Victor Emmanuel II on the obverse. This decree also stipulated that the new coins should contain at least 95 percent copper, although the correct composition was later established by the December 15, 1860, Lieutenancy Decree, which mandated the use of a bronze alloy composed of 960‰ copper and 40‰ tin. The document also decided on the size of the 1-cent coin, which was to have a diameter of 15 mm and a weight of 1 g.Regio decreto 20 novembre 1859, n. 3773
With the proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, the new 1-cent bronze coins, engraved by Giuseppe Ferraris and depicting Victor Emmanuel II, became legal tender on August 1, 1861,Regio decreto 17 luglio 1861, n. 114 and until November 1, 1862, they operated under a dual circulation system.Regio decreto 21 settembre 1862, n. 834 Bronze coins could be exchanged by the state in unlimited quantities, while payments between private individuals were not allowed to exceed the value of 1 lira. The minting of 1-cent coins, in spite of the reported date (1861), did not begin until 1862, and these were struck by the Milan and Naples mints, which minted many with the correct 1862 date. The coins of the Neapolitan mint generally have a worn-out mintage and an impression of the obverse on the reverse; in addition, their weight varies between 1.02 g, for those dated 1861 and 0.99 g for those dated 1862. These slight dissimilarities in weight can also be seen in the later mintages of Umberto I and Victor Emmanuel III.. Among those minted in Milan, an extremely rare variant (R4) was found, bearing an upside-down M instead of the usual mintmark.. Other 1-cent coins were later minted in 1868 by the Milan and Turin mints, although they bear the date 1867.
Umberto I With the death of Victor Emmanuel II on January 9, 1878, the eldest son Umberto I became king of Italy. According to reports in the 1891 Italian Numismatic Magazine, the minting of 1-cent coins with the effigy of Victor Emmanuel II continued even during the reign of Umberto I; it is estimated that the Milan mint minted 23500000 1-cent coins dated 1867 between 1883 and 1892, excluding the years 1884 and 1890.
For this reason, the minting of 1-cent coins depicting Umberto I and engraved by Filippo Speranza began only from 1895, when the lack of 1, 2 and 5 cent coins in circulation was recognized. The issuance of these coins was regulated by a decree of October 13, 1894, which stipulated the withdrawal and demonetization of 15175384 of worn-out 10-cent coins in order to mint new 1, 2 and 5-cent coins for the same value at the Rome Mint.Regio decreto 13 ottobre 1894, n. 459 The 1-cent coin with the effigy of Umberto I was minted annually until 1900 (excluding 1898), the year of the king's assassination; in particular, in this year the minting of 1000000 10-cent coins was again authorized in order to mint new 1-cent coins.Regio decreto 4 marzo 1900, n. 82
Victor Emmanuel III Less than a year after the new king's coronation, a decree was issued regarding the minting of coins with the portrait of Victor Emmanuel III.Regio decreto 7 marzo 1901, n. 92 The style of the 1-cent coin perfectly followed that of his predecessors, and with continuity the same author of his father's coins, Filippo Speranza, was also chosen. This coin was minted annually from 1902 to 1905 and a small amount in 1908 as well, in particular 20000000 of 1-cent coins between 1904 and 1905 were made from the bronze from the demonetized and cast 10-cent coins.Regio decreto 10 agosto 1904, n. 584 The 1-cent coins minted up to 1908 may have a misalignment between the date numerals, less frequently between the cent letters, due to a misalignment of the movable punches in the minting.
Beginning in 1908,Regio decreto 29 ottobre 1908, n. 629 the style of the coin changed dramatically, initiating the series of cents called "Italy on prow" or "Maritime Italy." The new 1-cent coin changed from a typically 19th-century style to one influenced by Art Nouveau, which was beginning to spread in those years. The reverse image echoes that of the drachmas minted for Egypt during the principate of Antoninus Pius: these coins depict the seafaring goddess Isis, standing on the prow of a beaked ship, holding a sail. In the new cent of Victor Emmanuel III, the Egyptian fertility goddess is replaced with an allegory of Italy holding an olive branch instead of a sail. This coin was minted starting in 1908 with the use of the metal derived from the withdrawal from circulation and melting of 3000000 10-cent coins.Regio decreto 4 giugno 1908, n. 279 Among those dated 1908, moreover, it is possible to distinguish two variants caused by the change of minting: while those struck first present the number 8 well-proportioned to the rest of the date, those manufactured after the change of minting present the smaller number 8. Another variation is represented by the 1910 coins, which have the mintmark in incuse instead of in relief, and by those of 1911, which in most cases have the dot after the date. In addition, in some 1915 coins it is possible to find a recoinage in which the allegory of Italy features four hands instead of two.. 1-cent coins of this type were minted annually until 1918Decreto legislativo luogotenenziale 14 luglio 1918, n. 1064 and remained in circulation until June 30, 1924, when, as a result of the high inflation inherited from World War I, by a decree all 1-cent coins ceased to be legal tender.Regio decreto 4 maggio 1924, n. 888
Coins All the coins weigh 1g, were 15mm in diameter, had a smooth edge, and were made of bronze that had a composition of Cu 960‰ and Sn 40‰.