Italy 20 Centesimi Coin - 1942 Twenty 20 Cents Preserved In Lava WW2 II Souvenir. This was brought back after the end of the war by my grandad who was stationed in Italy.

It is an Italian coin embedded in a piece of lava and is a souvenir made for tourists by pressing a coin into a piece of warm lava.

The coin is a bronze Italian coin dated 1942

It had to be made near an active volcano in a tourist area, and the most likely ones are Mt. Vesuvius and Mt. Etna in Italy.

The volcano Mt. Vesuvius and the neighboring Roman towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum are a famous attraction and are visited by by thousands every year.

 

Mt. Etna in Sicily has erupted many times and is also a tourist attraction.

The coin side with the date is always visible.