Like most countries, Italy has a rich history and some of the sovereigns that feature on the Gold Lire coins have a lot of points of interest. For example, in 1849 Vittorio Emanuele II became the first king of an independent Italy since the 6th century. He later married his paternal aunt’s daughter and had eight children with her

Vittorio Emanuele II’s son, Umberto I of Italy, features on some of the Gold Lire high mintage coins was assassinated in 1900 whilst holding tenure of the Italian throne. He oversaw Italy’s concurring of present-day Somalia. Umberto famously sold off his father’s race horse collection as soon as he took the throne. This was under the guise of paying off excessive debts accumulated by his father

Many of the Gold Italian Lire displays the coat of arms of the House of Savoy, a white cross displayed on a red background. Red is considered a lucky colour in Italy. Other Lire designs have an olive branch displayed which symbolises Italy’s desire for peace