Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
10 Euros International Year of Astronomy
| Issuer | Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato |
|---|---|
| Year | 2009 |
| Type | Non-circulating coin |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Log in to see details |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | REPUBBLICA ITALIANA (Translation: Italian Republic) |
| Reverse description | The reverse features a richly detailed composition centered on a Galilean refracting telescope depicted diagonally across the field, its ornate brass fittings and eyepiece rendered in fine relief. Behind it, a detailed celestial planisphere or astrolabe chart fills the background, inscribed with zodiacal constellation names including CAPRICORNVS, SAGITTARIVS, SCORPIO, LIBRA, VIRGO, and calibration scales. Constellation dot-and-line patterns are scattered throughout the field. The denomination 10 EURO appears prominently in the lower left field. The engraver's signature L. DE SIMONI and the Rome mint mark R appear in the lower portion of the field. The circular legend ASTRONOMIA 2009 ANNO INTERNAZIONALE runs along the upper periphery. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Italy's 2009 silver euro issues commemorating the International Year of Astronomy — declared by the UN to mark the 400th anniversary of Galileo's first telescopic observations — were struck by the IPZS at its Rome facility. Galileo's use of the telescope in 1609 to observe Jupiter's moons directly challenged the Ptolemaic model and, less comfortably for the Italian state, led to his 1633 condemnation by the Inquisition. That the Italian mint would eventually honor him on legal tender took several more centuries than it perhaps should have.