Numismatic Auction: Two Catalogues for a Journey Through History

The eagerly awaited Numismatic Auction organized by Cambi Auction House and Crippa Numismatics returns from Tuesday 11 to Thursday 13 November 2025. This three-day event brings together an extraordinary selection of coins from the House of Savoy, Italian and foreign mints, and ancient coins, along with the second part of the prestigious “Medals & Popes” collection, dedicated to papal medals. The viewing of the lots will be available from October 13  to November 10, by appointment only.

The auction features two catalogues guiding the public on a true journey through history, from the ancient world to the modern age. The first catalogue is entirely dedicated to the Savoy dynasty and Papal coinage, offering numerous rare specimens, often of exceptional quality.
In particular, the section titled “Ten Centuries of Numismatic History of the House of Savoy (1048–1946)” gathers centuries of minting, showcasing—through 534 lots—the continuity and evolution of the numismatic language of one of Europe’s oldest dynasties. Coins from Piedmontese and Savoy mints illustrate the refined art of engraving and the symbolic value of currency as an expression of power.

Among the highlights of this section:

Lot 160, a silver 3-lire scudo minted in Turin in 1569 under Emmanuel Philibert of Savoy, known as “Iron Head”, a rare example of refined 16th-century Savoyard minting.

Lot 172, a ducatone minted in Turin in 1588 under Charles Emmanuel I of Savoy, called “the Great”, a sophisticated issue reflecting the prestige and might of the Duchy at the end of the 16th century.

Lot 324, a gold carlino of 5 doppie minted in Turin in 1786 under Victor Amadeus III of Savoy, a refined testimony to the elegance and monetary solidity of the Kingdom of Sardinia in the late 18th century.

This first part also includes a selection of sixty medals dedicated to the House of Savoy—symbols of celebration and remembrance that capture the taste and magnificence of royal courts.

Alongside this major section, the catalogue also presents an interesting collection of Papal gold coins from the 14th to the 20th century—a sequence of specimens recounting centuries of papal history through the charm of Roman and Vatican mints.

The second catalogue broadens the perspective, offering a journey across different eras and geographical areas, ranging from Greek and Punic coins to Byzantine, through Roman coinage—both Republican and Imperial—with particular attention to portrait quality and to the female world of the Empire, represented by a rich selection of coins dedicated to the Augustae. This entire ancient section will be reserved for the Italian market.

Among the ancient coins, a highlight is Lot 740, a trihemistater minted in Carthage between 270 and 260 BC, an extraordinary testimony to the economic power of Punic Zeugitania in the period immediately preceding the First Punic War.

Following are coins from Italian mints, the Papal State, again the House of Savoy, and foreign mints. Noteworthy is Lot 1082, a ducatone of 124 soldi with Saint Justina, minted under Ludovico Manin (1789–1797), the last Doge of the Serenissima, a precious witness to the end of Venice’s glorious monetary history.

The auction then reaches one of its most fascinating and anticipated sections: the collection of English gold coins from the 11th to the 20th century. This outstanding selection spans nearly a millennium of British history, portraying through the faces of kings and queens the story of an empire and its cultural legacy.

Among the British coins, Lot 1190, a gold half pound minted at the Tower of London Mint between 1592 and 1595, during the reign of Elizabeth I Tudor (1558–1603), stands out as an elegant example of late 16th-century Elizabethan coinage.

The catalogue concludes with the highly anticipated second part of the “Medals & Popes” collection, which—after the extraordinary success of its first spring edition—returns with 332 lots of remarkable interest. This unique corpus documents the history of the Church and its pontiffs through the refinement of the medal as both an art form and a medium of memory. Among the papal pieces, Lot 1648, a silver medal from 1854 during the pontificate of Pius IX, celebrates the reconstruction of the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls.

Check out all the lots in the catalog!