hey guys, i found two 1950's italian coins. one of them is a large looking 1957 L100 (with a roman soldier on the back touching a tree) the other is a 1955 L50 (with a man striking a piece of metal with a hammer) both of these coins have reeded edges and have what appears to have a lady liberty-like figure on the front. The words Republica Italiana are on the front of both coins. does anyone know if they are rare, valueable (over the face value), or contain any silver thanks, your friend, chevy
That Italian 100 Lire desire was issued 1955-92 and features the head of Italia and the goddess Ceres. The coin is made of stainless steel and there were 90.6 million minted that year. The R is the Rome mint mark. Collector value of a coin depends on date, mint mark (if any), number minted and condition of a coin, including amount of wear, any dents, scratches or cleaning. That one may range from .10 to maybe $150. Points of wear to look for would be Ceres's fingers and dress as well as Italia's hairlines and laurel. Only perfect examples would command the high Uncirculated value and value drops off quickly for those with any wear at all. The 50 Lire is also stainless steel and also features Italia and a blacksmith and anvil. Points of wear are the head and hands. There were 70.5 million minted of a design used 1954-95. Value of this date may range from .10 to a possible $40. You might also try a library for a copy of the Standard Catalog of World Coins for pictures, values and lots more interesting info.
thanks a lot, these coins both have an R mint mark (i forgot to mention that) and are in better circulated condition. does that information affect the value at all?
In the case of Italy, the mint mark does not really make a difference since all Italian coins have the R mark. As Tbirde wrote, those were very common coins, and most of them are a bit (or even heavily) worn. Expect to get less than a dollar for them, though some collector may be willing to pay a little more. As for the face value, forget that ;-) In today's currency, 150 lire is 0.08 euro, ie. less than 10 (euro or US) cents ... Christian
