Victor Emmanuel III came to the throne in July 1900 following the assassination of his father Umberto I at Monza — and the 20 Lire denomination navigated nearly the entire arc of his troubled reign, from the Giolittian liberal experiment through Fascist rule and two world wars. The king's relationship with Mussolini, whom he appointed Prime Minister in 1922 and never dismissed despite ample opportunity, ensured that the monarchy's coinage outlasted any reasonable political mandate.
The KM# P100 reference places this as a pattern issue, struck for approval rather than general circulation — a distinction that sharply limits surviving examples to institutional and specialist collections.
Victor Emmanuel III came to the throne in July 1900 following the assassination of his father Umberto I at Monza — and the 20 Lire denomination navigated nearly the entire arc of his troubled reign, from the Giolittian liberal experiment through Fascist rule and two world wars. The king's relationship with Mussolini, whom he appointed Prime Minister in 1922 and never dismissed despite ample opportunity, ensured that the monarchy's coinage outlasted any reasonable political mandate.
The KM# P100 reference places this as a pattern issue, struck for approval rather than general circulation — a distinction that sharply limits surviving examples to institutional and specialist collections.