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Message:: [QUOTE="Bert Gedin, post: 3173305, member: 92556"]The second Giveaway coin I was awarded (for doing zilch !) was a 10 Centesimi, copper , Italian. Mintage year, 1924, 35,312,000 were struck. It was circulated years 1919-1937. - King Vittorio Emmanuelle III, of Italy, ruled from 1900 until his, probably enforced, abdication in 1946. He had also claimed to be Emperor of Abyssinia (1936-1941) and King of the Albanians (1939-1943), but without recognition by  other great powers. - The Kingdom of Italy saw 2 World Wars, and the King's reign encompassed Italian Fascism with Benito Mussolini, who was appointed P.M. in 1922. Monarchy was abolished in 1943, and the ex-King went into exile in Alexandria, Egypt, where he died in 2016. This "Soldier King" had remained silent during Mussolini's assassinations and other power abuses, and had been too closely identified with Fascism. The year of my coin, 1924, saw Italy's last multi-party election before Mussolini's landslide victory. - Bees, symbols of hard work and dedication, are the ancient heraldic motif of the noble Roman family of Barberini. Coat of Arms - papal tiara, keys and 3 bees. The family had a Pope elected in 1623, Pope Urban VIII. A Biblical riddle relates that bees had made a hive in a lion's body (killed by Samson). "Out of the strong came forth sweetness."[/QUOTE]