The issue - general introduction

The Provisional Government issue (for the historic notes I send you to the Tuscany general Introduction) is dated January 1st 1860.
The previous regime ended and the new valid currency was the Italian Lira; so, it was then necessary to prepare new postage stamps.
Even in this case, as we already saw for the issues of the other Duchies, the saving was maximized and the creative effort was minimal… In fact the minting die of the previous issue was taken and the Marzocco was substituted with the Savoy coat of arms: all the remaining was left exactly identical.
Same engraver: Niderost. Same typographic house: Cambiagi and Co. from Florence. Same paper: watermarked with waving lines, of low quality and thin as in the 2nd issue. Same table composition: 240 pieces in three blocks one on top of the other separated by a small inter-space and surrounded by a typographic thin line, in this case a bit more thick and a bit more easy to find it than the previous issues. Same way of printing: typographic.
It would be only repetitive to continue to describe again the technical details: I send the patient reader to the introduction of the first Grand Duchy issue.
It should only be noticed as the preparation work a bit in a hurry, brought several damages to the stereotypes: the labels are in general more deteriorated in comparison with the previous stamps. The external frames are sometimes curved. The insertion jobs of the lower plug left in addition some empty spaces clearly evident either on the sides of the plug itself or above where it is visible a missing printing space.
The issued values are the following:

Various were the printing runs and several the color shades that can be found, some quite different from the other. Between the printing varieties there are spots and color dots, together with the always-present stereotypes bumps such as broken frames, bent, ruined labels etc. Very rare the use of split stamps.
Some word in addition is needed for the 3 Lire value: everybody knows the great rarity of this value that had a postage power very high. It is very rare in whatever condition is it found and only two are the samples known on envelopes. Despite it is not in absolute the rarest of the Old Italian State stamps (think about the 80centesimi of the Parma provisional Government) it is known (and dreamed...) by all the collectors as the greatest rarity of the Antique Italian philately (pay attention to the forgeries!!!).

It is also the first postage stamp that carries the label ITALIANO (even if in short form).

These stamps stayed in use up to December 31st 1861 but they are found used even after that date (even up to 1863!).
They are known used also in other regions and even with the stamps of the first Italian Kingdom issue.

A very known use of this issue (and here I open a short parenthesis of postal history) is the one known as "Tiber Hunters", in Italian "Cacciatori del Tevere". In September 1860 a groups of about 800 volunteers headed by Luigi Masi entered in the Roman State territory to try its conquest, hoping to arrive up to Rome. The advance in the high Lazio region was successful to the point that the volunteers got in fact close to Rome, by occupying several cities, nevertheless it was ordered to Masi to stop as consequence of the agreements taken between Piedmont and France. The "Tiber Hunters" retreated, giving back to the Roman State the Lazio territories but they kept the Umbria ones, now already Sardinian.
During their advance they used Tuscany stamps, cancelled by the various Roman States postal offices on their way. These mails are very rare and in big demand.