Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy - 1809

10 Centesimi
Obverse - Napoleon's initial surmounted by the Iron Crown of Lombardy. The whole is surrounded by a wreath.	Reverse - NAPOLEONE IMPERATORE E RE Field, 10 CENT.I 1809 Exergue, Devices, lamp and a pomegranate, M
Size, 18 mm.

Milan mint. This is a fairly common date/mint combination with a mintage of about 875,000 pieces. It is a small coin with about 20% silver content. This example is clearly shows how the silver content was primarily on the surface. The scratches on the reverse are probably "adjustment marks", where a mint worker scraped off some metal to adjust the coin to the proper weight.

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