San Marino has issued commemorative gold coinage under its own name since the early 1970s, despite having no independent central bank and relying on Italy — and subsequently the European monetary system — to manage its currency. The 1998 issue falls in the final years before the lira's effective end, making it one of the last San Marinese gold pieces denominated within that framework.
The "Virgin of the Rocks" title references Leonardo's two versions of the composition, the earlier of which remains in the Louvre. The Uffizi attribution debates of the 1990s kept the painting in scholarly circulation at precisely the time this coin was issued.
San Marino has issued commemorative gold coinage under its own name since the early 1970s, despite having no independent central bank and relying on Italy — and subsequently the European monetary system — to manage its currency. The 1998 issue falls in the final years before the lira's effective end, making it one of the last San Marinese gold pieces denominated within that framework.
The "Virgin of the Rocks" title references Leonardo's two versions of the composition, the earlier of which remains in the Louvre. The Uffizi attribution debates of the 1990s kept the painting in scholarly circulation at precisely the time this coin was issued.