20 Lire - Carlo Alberto

Carlo Alberto's gold coinage was struck at the Turin mint throughout a reign defined by two failed attempts to drive Austrian forces from the Italian peninsula. The disastrous defeat at Novara in March 1849 forced his abdication the same day — he died in exile in Oporto four months later. Coins from the final years of the series, 1848–1849, were produced against the backdrop of active military campaigning and are considerably scarcer than earlier dates.