Piedmont & Lucca — Latin Monetary Union Coinage

The Subalpine Republic and the Principality of Lucca are both client states created by Napoelon I with limited coinage. Both also used the franc rather than the lire.

Supalpine Republic

(Piedmont Republic 1799-1799 / Subalpine Republic 1800-1801)

The Subalpine Republic 1800-1802 was a client state of France established by Napoleon I after his victory at the Battle of Marengo. It was located in Piedmont (capital - Turin), in what had been briefly the Piedmont Republic (1798-1799).

The 20 francs is often referred to as the “Marengo,” referring to the battle and as it appeared on the coin, and this term is now used generically to refer to the 20 francs that followed it. The coinage refers to the French Republic Calendar (AN9-AN12), which covers the period September 1800 to September 1802. This was was first gold coin minted according to what later became the Napoleonic (and LMU) standard.

The Subalpine Republic was dissolved in September 1802 and its territory was annexed into France and to the short-lived Italian Republic (1802-1805), where Napoleon I was President. Both were later held by Napoleon I (in France, as Emperor and in Italy as King of the Kingdom of Italy).

Circulation Coins

Underlined text links to Numista

Certain images are clickable for more detail

20 Lire

AN9-AN10 / 1800-1801)
(Image: SIMA May 2023)

5 Lire

AN9-AN10 / 1800-1801
(Image: MDC Oct 2020)

Principality of Lucca and Piombino

The Principality of Lucca and Piombino was established by Napoleon I in 1805 and lasted until his fall in 1814. It was ruled by Napoleon’s sister, Elisa, and her husband. Unlike most of Italy, the Principality was never annexed into France or into the Kingdom of Italy.

The territory had been occupied by France since 1899 and the creation of this state was to combine the Republic of Lucca and the Principality of Piombino (which were not contiguous territories — see “P. of Lucca and “P. of Piombino” in orange above).

The successor state, the Republic of Lucca, adopted the lire but with a lower silver content than the Napoleonic standard (4.7 grams at .66 fine)

5 Francs

1805-1808
(Image: NAC June 2023)

1 Franc