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10 Dollars Marian Shrines - Loreto
| Issuer | Bank of Sierra Leone |
|---|---|
| Year | 2009 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | 38.61 mm |
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| Obverse description | The national coat of arms of Sierra Leone is depicted in the left-centre field, featuring two lions rampant flanking a shield ornamented with a lion, palm trees, and a zigzag pattern, surmounted by a torch. To the right of the arms is a rectangular inset vial containing holy water from the Shrine of Loreto, presented in a blue-tinted transparent window set into the coin. The circular legend REPUBLIC OF SIERRA LEONE runs along the upper periphery, the denomination $10 appears below the arms, and the date 2009 is inscribed along the lower rim. |
|---|---|
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| Reverse description | A detailed relief depiction of the Basilica della Santa Casa at Loreto, Italy, dominates the field, rendered in fine architectural detail showing the Renaissance facade with its arched porticoes on the left and the imposing domed bell towers on the right. A rectangular inset vial containing holy water is embedded vertically on the left side of the design. The inscription BAZYLIKA DOMU MATKI BOZEJ curves along the upper periphery in bold lettering, the word LORETO is inscribed vertically adjacent to the water insert, and the legend BASILICA DELLA SANTA CASA appears in an arc along the lower field. |
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| Additional information |
Loreto, a town on Italy's Adriatic coast, is built around the claim that the house of the Virgin Mary was miraculously transported from Nazareth by angels in the 13th century — first to Dalmatia in 1291, then to its current site in 1294. The story is almost certainly a diplomatic fiction: the Frankish-Albanian Angeli family likely funded the physical relocation of stonework during the Crusader retreats from the Holy Land. Sierra Leone has no geographical or religious connection to the shrine; this is a purely commercial issue produced for the collector market.