Appraisal by the Panel of Experts appointed by the Court of Rome for the valuation of the Treasury of Via Alessandrina

Guido Cimino, Michele Baranowsky, Guido Bezzi, Appraisal of the Panel of Experts appointed by the Court of Rome, First Section, with ruling dated 14 May-12 June 1940-XVIII for the valuation of the Treasury of Via Alessandrina in Rome, Grafica SA per le Arti Grafiche, Perugia 1942, pp. XXXI, 202, 18, cm 30, br. ed. protected by a contemporary silent br.

At the top of the title page: Royal Court of Rome, First Section.

A very special bibliographical relic printed in draft form for G. Bezzi, as indicated on the title page, made even more singular by the editorial replacement of the final photographic plates with 18 blank sheets of paper, presumably intended for working notes.

This volume documents the official appraisal commissioned by the Royal Court of Rome, drafted in 1940 and published two years later, to estimate the value of a famous find: the treasure of Via Alessandrina. On February 22, 1933, during the demolition of a building at number 101 on that Roman street, a worker accidentally discovered a hiding place behind an iron plate, from which a veritable cascade of gold coins and jewels belonging to the antique dealer Francesco Martinetti spilled out. The news received widespread coverage, fueled by newspaper reports of the time, and only eight years later the collection became part of the Capitoline Coin Collection.

The extraordinarily rich and detailed text includes a list of key reference works, followed by a description of numismatic classification criteria and a list of the main European auction catalogues for ancient Greek, Roman, Italian, papal, and other mint coins. The heart of the work is the detailed catalogue of over 2,600 coins—with an estimated value exceeding 1,200,000 lire, confirming the exceptional nature of the collection—accompanied by information on weight, diameter, state of preservation, estimate, and precise bibliographical references. Each section begins with a summary title page listing the total number of coins and their respective overall estimate.

Index: Expert Report; Greek Coins; Roman and Byzantine Coins (Campania, Roman Republic, Roman Empire, Byzantine Empire); Papal Coins; Coins from Italian Mints (Savoy, Piedmont, Liguria, Lombardy, Venice, Emilia, Tuscany, Lazio, Southern Italy, Malta); Foreign Coins; Silver Coins; Counterfeit Coins; Coins with No Numismatic Value; Ancient Goldsmith's Objects (Rings, Medallions and Cameos, Gold Pendants).

Old stain on the upper internal margin of the first pages which does not affect the text, foxing on the paperback, interior in more than good condition.

Unique.