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500 Lire Italian Traffic Police
| Issuer | Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato |
|---|---|
| Year | 1997 |
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| Composition | Log in to see details |
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| Reference(s) | KM#187, Schön#192 |
| Obverse description | Left-facing effigy of Italia, personified as a young female figure with winged temples, the wings serving as classical symbols of intelligence and freedom. The portrait is rendered in a clean, modern relief style characteristic of late twentieth-century Italian coinage. The legend REPVBBLICA ITALIANA arcs along the upper periphery of the inner disc, flanked by a decorative star. The engraver's name CRETARA appears below the truncation of the neck. |
|---|---|
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| Edge | Alternating milled and plain sections (8 each) |
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| Additional information |
Italy's 500 lire bimetallic format, introduced in 1982, was among the first circulating bimetallic coins produced anywhere in the world — the IPZS developed the bonding technology largely in-house. This particular issue honors the Polizia Stradale, the specialized corps responsible for motorway enforcement that was formally separated from general police functions in 1949. By 1997 the coin had only two years left as legal tender before euro conversion planning rendered the entire 500 lire series effectively commemorative in character, and circulation of late-date examples was already thin.