2 Lire Beetle

San Marino's 1974 coinage series was issued the year the republic formally revised its constitutional statutes, part of a broader push to modernize its institutions while maintaining formal ties to Italy through the customs and monetary union that had governed the relationship since 1862. The republic struck its own coins but remained bound to Italian monetary policy, giving these issues a peculiar dual status — legal tender locally, curiosities abroad.

KM#31 is part of the eight-coin set San Marino released that year, all struck at the Rome Mint.