1986 Italian Circulation Strike Set
200 Lire

Owner Comments:

I got this coin out of an old Franklin Mint, "Coin Sets of all Nations" set that I bought while trying to find high grade examples of the 500 Lire coins in various dates / years. I'd bought and broken up a set that included a 1987 500 Lire coin, but most of the other coins in that set were from 1986. So, when I decided I wanted to go ahead and submit some coins from 1986 to finish building out a 1986 birthyear set for the year my wife and I share, I sent these in as they looked like solid examples that would grade pretty well.

This coin was a bit more of a calculated risk than the 5 Lire and 10 Lire coins I submitted myself as I could have just purchased an already graded MS65 from a dealer for ~$45. I'd have known what I was getting and not had to worry about it. But I had this coin, I thought it would grade well, and I decided it was worth a ~$20 grading fee to see how I did.

The choice worked out very nicely for me in this case - I got this back as an MS67, making it the solo-finest graded by NGC at the time I'm writing this. We'll see if that stays the case, but submitting this coin netted me a very solid coin for this set either way.