f'cctcd through an excellent education, increased his 

 reputation at court, and in 1855 Ferdinand II paid 

 him, as a mark of recognition, the significant sum of 

 600 ducats for the engraving of a medal.-''" 



Fig. 96. — Naples, 1'r.^ncis II, piaslra, 1859 -'' 

 (Div. of Numismatics photo) 



It was only natural that with the accession of Francis 

 II in 1859 .'\rnaud should be commissioned to engrave 

 the new king's coinage (fig. 96). This final piece in 



the long series of Neapolitan coins won wide approval 

 at court for its "great resemblance." The king ap- 

 pointed him director of the Engra\'ing Office with the 

 right to place his initials on all coin dies. The piastra 

 of 1859, bearing the elegant but disillusioned features 

 of the yoimg king, is the swan song of the independent 

 Neapolitan mint. 



The encroaching waves of the unification mo\-emcnt 

 borne by Garibaldi's men, soon reached these south- 

 ern lands and in 1861 the Kingdom of Naples and 

 Sicily was incorporated into the new Kingdom of 

 Italy. The mint at Naples, however, continued to 

 work — but now for the whole country. Names like 

 Andrea Carriello, Scipione Catenacci, and especially 

 Luigi Arnaud were well known ^- in the early 

 si.xties, when coins bearing the portrait of Victor 

 Emmanuel II were struck at this mint. The sole 

 indication of their oriijin was a small letter n. 



ROME SINCE 1861 



It seems an irony of history that periods of high 

 achie\ement in the evolution of nations seldom find 

 superior artists among coin engravers to perpetuate 

 the greatness of their time. A classic example is 

 Caesar's coinage. Without any doubt it can be 

 classed among the weakest portrait series of the entire 

 ancient Roman coinage, otherwise so outstanding for 

 its forceful realistic portraiture. 



This same phenomenon occurred during the fateful 

 years of Italy's battle for national unity. Under the 

 leadership of the Savoy king, \'ictor Emmanuel II, 

 Italians from separate territories set out to overthrow 

 their national foreign rulers and join the movement 

 for freedom and unity. The numerous coins of Victor 

 Emmanuel II struck during the long reign of 29 years, 

 however, do not show his appealing majesty. ^'^ This 

 is evident in the many coins struck during the first 

 part of his reign, as king of Sardinia (1849-1861), by 

 the chief engraver of the Turin mint, Giuseppe 

 Ferraris, who continued also to engrave the coins for 

 the unified kingdom (fig. 97). The complete coinage 



in gold, silver, and copper struck during the long 

 span of almost three decades is bound by a rigid 

 conventionalism. The head of the king, banal in 

 concept, hardly conveys his warm, charming, and 

 energetic personality. The coat of arms on the reverse 



Fig. 97. — IiAiA, Victor Emma.m lu. II, 5 lire, 1861, 



Turin mint -'' 



(Div. of Numismatics photo) 



does not represent an inspiring symbol of national 

 faith but a cold image of officialdom. Mario Lan- 

 franco in his study of the projects and patterns of 

 the Italian kingdom -^^ deplores the lack of artistic 



MO CosENTiNi, CagS (1914), vol. 4, no. 2, pp. 37-42. 

 23'Caciati, fasc. 5, coin 1; D'Incf.rti, RIX (1959), p. 169, 

 coin 433; Davenport, European Crowns, coin 176. 



232 CosENTiNi, CagS (1914), vol. 4, no. 1, pp. 19-26. 



233 For a comparative study of Victor Emmanuel II's por- 

 traits on medals, sec Mondini, Spigolando Ira medaglie e date. On 

 pp. 143, 149, 190, 347, and 449 arc medals engraved by B. 

 Wyon, R. Gayard, L. Gori, and I'aolo Pasinati. 



2^* C.\7, vol. 1, p. 465, coin 3; Pacani, Monele ilaliane, coin 

 793; Davenport, European Crowns, coin 140. 



235 Lanfranco, RasN (1930), p. 209. Carboneri (p. 263) 

 seems less displeased with Ferraris' creations: "Le monete del 

 Ferraris sono ancora piil simplici di quelle del Lavy, ma sono 

 riputate gcneralmente ottimc per la csccuzione." 



44 



Bl LLETIN 229: CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE Ml'SEUM OF HISTORY .\ND TECHNOLOGY 



