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500 Lire Donatello
| Issuer | Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato |
|---|---|
| Year | 1986 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 500 Lire (500 ITL) |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | Log in to see details |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | Full-length depiction of Donatello's celebrated bronze statue of David, shown as a nude youth wearing a broad-brimmed hat and standing triumphantly with his left foot resting on the severed head of Goliath, holding a sword in his right hand. The figure is rendered in fine relief and positioned to the left of the field, with the denomination L 500 and date 1986 inscribed to the right, accompanied by the Rome Mint mark R above. The engraver's signature L. CRETARA appears in the lower exergue. The circular legend DONATELLO · VI · CENTENARIO · DELLA · NASCITA · runs along the upper and right periphery. |
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| Additional information |
Issued as part of Italy's long-running commemorative lire program, this piece honors Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi — known as Donatello — whose influence on Renaissance sculpture was so foundational that Michelangelo reportedly kept a cast of the Florentine master's work in his studio. The Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato produced numerous silver 500 lire commemoratives throughout the 1980s targeting collector markets as the circulating bimetallic 500 lire was already handling everyday transactions.
Mintage for this type was modest, consistent with the collector-only distribution model of the series.