500 Lire Guglielmo Marconi

This coin commemorates the centenary of Marconi's birth in 1874. Italy had long been protective of Marconi's legacy as a national figure, despite the awkward historical reality that much of his transformative transatlantic work was conducted from British and Canadian soil, and that his later career included a close association with Mussolini's Fascist regime — he joined the Fascist Grand Council in 1930 and remained a loyal supporter until his death in 1937.

Mintage was split between circulation strikes and a smaller proof issue. The .835 silver content was already being phased out of Italian coinage by this point, making this among the later commemoratives struck to that fineness.