Coins San Marino, Euro San Marino
The History
Five grams of copper with a value of 5 cents, and on one side, the inevitable three towers: this was the first San Marino coin, issued on October 23, 1864, in only 280 pieces. Two years before, on March 22, 1862, the Government of San Marino and the Italian Monarchy signed an monetary agreement granting the Republic the right to have its own currency. Specifically, the agreement read, as follows: "The currency that the Republic believes the need to issue in the future, can circulate in Kingdom of Italy, as long as they are equivalent to the decimal system and have the same title and value as those of the Kingdom". In fact, this is still valid today; even with the lira first and then the euro. The Italian and San Marino currencies circulate in both countries without distinction of value.
Two masterpieces in the San Marino numismatic history are: the 5 "franchi" coin depicting San Marino, issued on January 11, 1898, to commemorate the founding of he Republic and the "Libertà Turrita" issued on March 25, 2006, in commemoration of the first political elections. In homage to Italy, there are numerous coins which depict Giuseppe Garibaldi, the famous Italian military leader who escaped from the Austrians and found refuge in San Marino. From the 20-lira coin depicting the "Hero of Two Worlds" (Garibaldi) helping Anita (his wife) up the slopes of Mount Titano; to the coin commemorating the 100th anniversary of his death, issued in 1982. Lastly, a coin issued in 1932 commemorates an event which improved social and economic relations between San Marino and the nearby city of Rimini: the inauguration of an electric railway connecting the two localities (no longer functioning).
Today
Medal of the European Semester, November 2006 – May 2007
Peace, a graceful female figure, walks holding olive sprigs on the face of the silver medal created by Guido Veroi to commemorate the San Marino Presidency of the Comitato of Ministers of the European Council. Issued on November 15, 2006 - just a few days after the turn-over which introduced San Marino's European semester – the medal was produced in 4 thousand copies, each piece weighing 5 grams. The back of the medal is inscribed with the "three pinnacles" and the word "Libertas", both symbols of Mount Titano. Shortly thereafter, on January 23, 2007 a commemorative stamp of the event was issued.
Euro
The euro of San Marino represent a peculiarity in the European Monetary System. In fact, even though it is not a member of the European Union, San Marino was authorized to utilize the euro as its official currency since it did not have its own and used the Italian lira as its legal currency. With Italy's adoption of the euro, San Marino's euro currency entered into circulation, rapidly become extremely sought after by coin collectors, given the limited number of series coined.
The euro of San Marino are produced by the Mint of Rome, just as Italian coins are. The face of the coin is naturally the same as all the other European coins; while, the creator of the images represented on the National side is M. Frantesek Chochola and the engraver is Ettore Lorenzo Frapiccini.
