Catalog
1 Tala San Marco's Basilica
| Issuer | Samoa |
|---|---|
| Year | 2009 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | 11 mm |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | A detailed frontal view of the Basilica di San Marco in Venice, Italy, fills the central field, rendered with fine architectural precision showing the five arched portals of the lower facade, the five Byzantine domes, ornate Gothic pinnacles, and decorative spires characteristic of this iconic cathedral. The legend BASILICA DI SAN MARCO arcs along the upper border in raised Latin lettering. The date 2009 appears in the lower exergue. A beaded inner border frames the entire design. |
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| Additional information |
Part of a broader Pacific Island micro-gold series that proliferated in the late 2000s, these fractional issues were struck for the collector market under licensing arrangements that had little to do with Samoan monetary policy. The San Marco Basilica subject ties to no particular Samoan connection — Venice and Apia share nothing historically — making this squarely a bullion-adjacent novelty aimed at European and Asian accumulator markets.