The lira (plural ''lire'') was the currency of the

Kingdom of Sardinia The Kingdom of Sardinia,The name of the state was originally Latin: , or when the kingdom was still considered to include Corsica. In Italian it is , in French , in Sardinian , and in Piedmontese . also referred to as the Kingdom of Savoy-S ...

between August 6, 1816, and March 17, 1861. It was subdivided into 100 ''centesimi'' (singular ''centesimo'') and was equal in value to the

French franc The franc (, ; sign: F or Fr), also commonly distinguished as the (FF), was a currency of France. Between 1360 and 1641, it was the name of coins worth 1 livre tournois and it remained in common parlance as a term for this amount of money. It w ...

(4.5

gram The gram (originally gramme; SI unit symbol g) is a unit of mass in the International System of Units (SI) equal to one one thousandth of a kilogram. Originally defined as of 1795 as "the absolute weight of a volume of pure water equal to th ...

s of

silver Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...

), which had previously been used as the currency of the Kingdom of Sardinia, having replaced the

Piedmontese scudo The scudo (plural: ''scudi'') was the currency of the Piedmont and the other mainland parts of the Savoyard Kingdom of Sardinia until 1816. It was subdivided into 6 ''lire'' (singular: ''lira''), each of 20 ''soldi'' or 240 ''denari''. The ''dop ...

by 1801. Since the Sardinian lira was little more than another version of the French franc, it could circulate also in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, and the French coins could circulate in

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

(the mainland part of the Kingdom of Sardinia). The Sardinian lira was replaced at par by the

Italian lira The lira (; plural lire) was the currency of Italy between 1861 and 2002. It was first introduced by the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy in 1807 at par with the French franc, and was subsequently adopted by the different states that would eventually ...

in 1861, as a consequence of the process of Italian unification. Similar to the majority of 19th century currencies, the Sardinian lira was not affected by significant episodes of

inflation In economics, inflation is an increase in the general price level of goods and services in an economy. When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services; consequently, inflation corresponds to a reduct ...

during all its existence.

Coins

In 1816, King Victor Emmanuel I issued silver £5 and gold £20 coins. Before his abdication in 1821, he also issued a new gold £80 coin. King Charles Felix followed in 1821 and 1822 minting gold £40 and £80, respectively. He also expanded the new currency in

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; it, Sardegna, label=Italian, Corsican and Tabarchino ; sc, Sardigna , sdc, Sardhigna; french: Sardaigne; sdn, Saldigna; ca, Sardenya, label=Algherese and Catalan) is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after ...

which, not having been conquered by

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

, had retained its Sardinian scudo. Silver c.50, £1 and £2 were added in 1823, followed by copper c.1, c.3 and c.5 in 1826, and silver c.25 in 1829. Finally,

King Charles Albert Charles Albert (; 2 October 1798 – 28 July 1849) was the King of Sardinia from 27 April 1831 until 23 March 1849. His name is bound up with the first Italian constitution, the Albertine Statute, and with the First Italian War of Independenc ...

added new gold £10, £50 and £100 in 1832, while

King Victor Emmanuel II en, Victor Emmanuel Maria Albert Eugene Ferdinand Thomas , house = Savoy , father = Charles Albert of Sardinia , mother = Maria Theresa of Austria , religion = Roman Catholicism , image_size = 252px , succession1 ...

continued his father's coinage. On each coin, the ruling monarch was styled in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

as ''King of Sardinia, Cyprus and Jerusalem by the Grace of God'' on the front side, and ''Duke of Savoy, Genoa and Montferrat, Prince of Piedmont et cetera'' on the back side.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sardinian Lira Obsolete Italian currencies Modern obsolete currencies 1816 establishments in the Kingdom of Sardinia Kingdom of Sardinia Franc 1816 establishments in Italy

Coins

See also

References