120 Grana / 1 Piastre    (Vendue pour $520.0)

1791, Naples & Sicily, Ferdinand IV & Maria Carolina of Austria. Silver "Zodiac" Piastra Coin. Rare!

Mint Year: 1791 Mint Marks: P. / A.P.M. Denomination: 120 Grana (Piastra) Reference: Davenport 1408, KM-C68. Condition: Lightly cleaned/wiped in the past, otherwise about XF! Material: Silver (.833) Weight: 27.18gm Diameter: 41mm

Obverse: Conjoined busts Ferdinand I of Sicily and Maria Carolina of Austria right. Legend: FERDINANVS IV. ET M. CAROLINA VNDIQ . FELICES Reverse: A band with zodiac symbols above shining sun and earth as a globe, splitting date (17-91). Mint master's initials (A.P.M.) in field. Legend: SOLI REDVCI ("The sun is returning!") / A.P.M. / 1791

Ferdinand I (Ferdinando Antonio Pasquale Giovanni Nepomuceno Serafino GennaroBenedetto, January 12, 1751 – January 4, 1825) was King variously of Naples, Sicily, and the Two Sicilies from 1759 until his death. He was the third son of King Charles VII of Naples, later Charles III of Spain, King of Sicily by his wife Maria Amalia of Saxony. On August 10, 1759, Charles succeeded his brother as King Charles III of Spain. Treaty provisions made Charles unable to hold the titles of all three Kingdoms. On October 6, 1759 he therefore abdicated in favour of his son Ferdinand (Charles's eldest son, Philip, was mentally retarded and the second son, Charles, was destined to inherit the Spanish throne).

Ferdinand was styled both Ferdinand III of Sicily (October 6, 1759 - December 8, 1816) and Ferdinand IV of Naples (October 6, 1759 - January 23, 1799; June 13, 1799 - March 30, 1806; May 3, 1815 - December 8, 1816).

On January 23, 1799, the Kingdom of Naples was declared to be abolished and replaced by the Parthenopaean Republic which only lasted until June 13, 1799. Ferdinand was restored to the throne for a while. On December 26, 1805, Napoleon I of France declared Ferdinand deposed again and replaced him with his own brother Joseph Bonaparte on March 30, 1806. Ferdinand was restored for a third time by right of the Austrian victory at the Battle of Tolentino (May 3, 1815) over rival monarch King Joachim I. On December 8, 1816 he merged the thrones of Sicily and Naples to the throne of the Two Sicilies. He continued to rule until his death on January 4, 1825. However, his reign up until 1812 was mainly dominated by his wife.

Maria Carolina of Austria (German: Maria Karolina von Österreich; Italian: Maria Carolina d'Austria; 13 August 1752 – 8 September 1814), born Archduchess Maria Carolina of Austria (German: Erzherzogin Maria Karolina von Österreich), and later becoming Maria Carolina, Queen of Naples and Sicily (Italian: Maria Carolina, Regina di Napoli e di Sicilia) was queen consort and de facto ruler of Naples from 1768 to 1799 and from 1799 to 1806, and of Sicily from 1768 until her death in 1814, though she had lost the de facto power in 1812. She was born an Austrian Archduchess and was a sister of Queen Marie Antoinette of France.