Italy's ongoing commemorative silver program has issued hundreds of cultural figures, but the 2012 Michelangelo piece carries a specific occasion: the 450th anniversary of his death in February 1564. Michelangelo died in Rome at 88, outliving three popes who had employed him and leaving the dome of St. Peter's unfinished — completed posthumously by Giacomo della Porta using his model.
The Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato struck this under its standard collector mintage limits, keeping the issue off general circulation entirely.
Italy's ongoing commemorative silver program has issued hundreds of cultural figures, but the 2012 Michelangelo piece carries a specific occasion: the 450th anniversary of his death in February 1564. Michelangelo died in Rome at 88, outliving three popes who had employed him and leaving the dome of St. Peter's unfinished — completed posthumously by Giacomo della Porta using his model.
The Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato struck this under its standard collector mintage limits, keeping the issue off general circulation entirely.