San Marino's annual coin program has long operated as a de facto collectibles business — the republic mint issues legal tender that virtually never circulates, targeting the philatelic and numismatic trade rather than any domestic cash economy. By 1991, the series had been running long enough that earlier aluminium 10 Lire types from the 1970s were already appearing in dealer lots as semi-keys.
San Marino's annual coin program has long operated as a de facto collectibles business — the republic mint issues legal tender that virtually never circulates, targeting the philatelic and numismatic trade rather than any domestic cash economy. By 1991, the series had been running long enough that earlier aluminium 10 Lire types from the 1970s were already appearing in dealer lots as semi-keys.