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500 Lire Horatius
| Issuer | Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato |
|---|---|
| Year | 1993 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Diameter | 32 mm |
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|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | At center, a Corinthian capital column capital serves as the principal design element, symbolizing classicism and the enduring legacy of antiquity. Incused within or beneath the capital is a verse excerpt from Horace's Ars Poetica — 'VT PICTURA POESIS' ('As is painting, so is poetry') — followed by the denomination L 500. The legend REPVBBLICA ITALIANA arcs around the upper field. The mint mark R (Rome) and the date 1993 appear to the left of the capital. |
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| Additional information |
Issued as part of Italy's "Bimetallic and Silver Series" commemorating figures from Roman history and literature, this piece honors Quintus Horatius Flaccus — the Augustan poet whose Odes and Satires survived largely intact through monastic copying during the early medieval period. Horace was born in 65 BC in Venusia, the son of a freed slave, and rose to become one of the most influential voices of the Augustan cultural program.
Italy's commemorative 500 Lire silver program of the early 1990s drew modest collector interest domestically but stronger demand abroad, particularly in the United States and Germany.