2 Lire - Carlo Alberto

Carlo Alberto's silver coinage was struck at the Turin mint during a reign defined by constitutional crisis and military ambition. He granted the Statuto Albertino in March 1848 — the constitution that would eventually govern unified Italy — then immediately led Piedmont into the First Italian War of Independence against Austria. The campaign ended in catastrophic defeat at Novara in March 1849, after which he abdicated to his son Vittorio Emanuele II and died in exile in Porto, Portugal, four months later.

The 1849 dated pieces are the rarest of the run.