Leo XIII 1878B 5 Lire NGC AU55

The coin that's not supposed to exist! The last papal states coin was issued in 1870 under Pius IX and coinage for the Popes wouldn't resume until the founding of Vatican City in 1929. Here we have a 5 Lire coin, Anno I of Pope Leo XIII, dated 1878B, marked "SAGGIO" (Italian for "trial"). NGC identifies this piece as "Pecci [Family] Issue," the family of Leo XIII. It's likely the "B" in "1878B" stands--not for Bologna--but for Brussels and was designed by Henri Charles Wurden who engraved a number of trial pieces and patterns. Rare, KM# Pn6, graded NGC AU 55.