Italy: 20 Centesimi 1908-1935

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Quick Coinage Facts

Years Minted: 1908-1935
Composition: Nickel
Diameter: 21.5 mm
Weight: 4 grams
Total Mintage: 223,496,000
Unique Features:

Design

Designed by Leonardo Bistolfi, the obverse design features a woman admiring an ear of wheat. On the outer periphery is the country’s name “ITALIA”.

The reverse design features an allegorical figure of Liberty in flight holding a torch above Savoy Arms (Italy’s National Coat of Arms at that time). To the right of the Savoy Arms is the denomination “C.20”, year of issue and mint mark “R” for Rome (note that all coins were minted in Rome). On the lower left hand periphery is the designer’s name “BISTOLFI”. On the lower right periphery is the engraver's name "L. GIORGI".

The reverse design has given the series several nicknames; "Flying Liberty", "Flying Victory" and even "Flying Nude".

General Market Notes

The keys to the series are any coins issued after 1922 as mintages fell off dramatically towards the later part of the series.

The semi-key coin is the 1919 issue. The value for this coin is found at grades of Extremely Fine (XF) or higher while lower grades return this coin to common status. The reason for this is the influence of World War I where no coins were produced during this time period. When the war ended, the 20 Centesimi resumed in 1919 but with a small mintage of 3.4 million coins. As there was a post-war coin shortage most were instantly used in circulation leaving few examples in high grades.

Obverse Reverse
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