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500 Lire The Holy Stonemason Marino
| Issuer | San Marino |
|---|---|
| Year | 1989 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 500 Lire (500 SML) |
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| Obverse description | Log in to see details |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin |
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| Reverse description | The bronzital centre depicts a draped standing figure of Saint Marinus, patron and legendary founder of the republic, shown as a stonemason working with a chisel and mallet upon a rocky outcrop. To the right of the figure, a small architectural structure — evoking the basilica on Monte Titano — is rendered in low relief, with the date 1989 and the Rome mint mark R appearing in the field beside it. The acmonital outer ring is decorated with stylised foliate and scroll motifs, with the denomination L 500 inscribed at the base. |
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| Additional information |
San Marino's bimetallic 500 Lire series of the 1980s preceded Italy's own adoption of the format by several years — the Repubblica di San Marino used its tiny annual mintage program as a proving ground for coin technologies and designs that the Italian state was still debating. This particular issue honors the legendary founder of San Marino, the Dalmatian stonemason Marinus, who according to tradition established a Christian community atop Monte Titano in 301 AD while fleeing Diocletian's persecutions.
The 301 AD founding date is almost certainly apocryphal, but San Marino has built its entire national identity on it.