20 Lire - Victor Emmanuel III Trial strike

Trial strikes (prove di conio) in lead were a standard step in Italian Royal Mint procedure for approving new designs before authorizing production runs. This 1912 piece corresponds to the approved 20 Lire gold type cataloged by Pagani, struck in lead as part of the internal approval process rather than for any circulation or collector purpose. Most were either destroyed after approval or retained in official archives; survivors reached the market only sporadically through estate dispersals or institutional deaccessions decades later.