167, Lot: 238. Estimate $300. Sold for $430. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

ITALY, Kingdom of Napoleon. Napoleon I. 1804-1814. AV 40 Lire (26mm, 12.86 g, 7h). Milan mint. Dated 1814 M. Bare head left / Crowned arms, supported by eagle, crossed sceptres and ermine robes all behind. KM 12: Friedberg 5. VF.

Ex. C. G. Collection.

Napoleon was crowned King of Italy at Milan on 26 May 1805. Other members of the Bonaparte family also acceeded to positions in Italy; his sisters Elisa as Grand Duchess of Tuscany, Pauline as Duchess of Guastalla, Caroline as Queen of Naples with Jaochim Murat and Napoleon’s own son (born in 1810) as King of Rome. The bickering, disloyal and greedy Bonaparte family did no credit to Napoleon in Italy, and the most loyal member of the family turned out to be Eugené de Beauharnais, nephew of Napoleon’s first wife Josephine and appointed viceroy of Italy.