Coins of Defunct States

Carolus Albertus, Dei Gratie Rex Sardiniae, Cypri et Hierosolymea

Dux Sabaudiae, Genuae er Montisferrati, Princeps Pedemontii

You know Latin, don't you? I am an older person. About 40 years ago, I learned Latin at school. But just to be sure, I'll translate it. It says: "Charles Albert, by the grace of God, King of Sardinia, Cyprus, and Jerusalem, Duke of Savoy, Genoa, and Montferrat, Prince of Piedmont.

Do you know where to find these countries? I am a teacher by profession, so I always tend to ask questions. Now I will stop and start telling stories.

Most educated people on Earth today probably know where to find Italy and Germany. But they mean the countries. In the mid-19th century, however, these were not yet countries, but merely geographical concepts.

A good map is worth a thousand words. So I asked Chat GPT for help. Now you know where the Kingdom of Sardinia was located.

In 1848, revolution swept across most of Europe. It was partly about religion, but largely about democracy, uniting divided nations, and liberating some nations from the subjugation of others. In the background, you would find the terrible poverty of the broad masses of the people.

The revolution also swept through the Apennine Peninsula, where Italy is located. It began with a national struggle against the Habsburg dynasty, which at that time ruled not only the Austrian monarchy but also the Kingdom of Lombardy-Venetia.

The anti-Habsburg revolution was led by the Sardinian king Albert, pictured here. He was a democratic king. He came from a side branch of his family and became king after the unexpected abdication of his cousin.

He promoted reforms in his country and restricted himself with a relatively liberal constitution.

In his youth, Charles Albert studied law, history, and military science. However, after initial successes, he was completely defeated by the then 82-year-old Marshal Radetzky, a veteran of the battles against Napoleon Bonaparte. (Radetzky was my compatriot, a Czech, which is why I mention him at all.)

Charles Albert was forced to abdicate in favor of his son and went into exile in Portugal. The following year, in 1849, he died of heart failure. Essentially, his failure in war killed him. He was 51 years old (1798-1849).

His conqueror, Josef Radecký, 1766-1858, lived to be 94. If he had still been alive in 1866, he might have been able to defeat Prussia and Italy, which had joined forces in another war against the Habsburgs. Italy and Germany might not have united. Europe might have developed differently. Perhaps we would have been spared both world wars.

But history knows no "what ifs." So I'll return to the coin. This is a typical 20 franc coin from the Latin Monetary Union, weighing 6.4516 g, with a purity of 900/1000 (Au+Cu) and a diameter of 21 mm. Only the coin does not have a value in francs, but in lire. 1 Franc = 1 Lira.

And you can probably guess which coin I will be presenting in my next article, which I will probably write sooner than usual.

All coins shown are always mine. I used AI to create the map. For reasons unknown to me, the AI decided to rename the Papal States to the Grand Duchy of Parma and Modena. I am unable to change the name. I apologize for this. It is proof that AI is not perfect at all.