10 Euros Art School for Medal Production

The Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato is unusual among European minting authorities in that it operates simultaneously as a state printer, a security document producer, and a mint — a consolidation that traces back to a 1928 Fascist-era reorganization merging previously separate Roman institutions. Its internal school for medal engravers, the subject of this commemorative, maintained a curriculum rooted in 19th-century medaglistica traditions long after comparable programs elsewhere had dissolved. The school trained engravers who worked directly on steel hubs and punches by hand.

Mintage for this issue was capped at 9,000 pieces.