Afternoon everyone….
You all know how much I enjoy old world coins. I think the old vintage world coins had some really well done designs. Well I’m also a big fan of big ships on coins. So this one hits both of those markers.
So today I’m going to share a lovely toned Italian 500 Lira coin. It’s a 1960 coin and is very high AU or low MS. I bought it because of the cool toning and of course the ship on the reverse.
Coin specs:
IssuerItaly
PeriodRepublic (1946-date)
TypeStandard circulation coin
Years1958-2001
Value500 Lire (500 ITL)
CurrencyLira (1861-2001)
CompositionSilver (.835)
Weight11 g
Diameter29.3 mm
Thickness2 mm
ShapeRound
OrientationCoin alignment ↑↓
Demonetized02-28-2002
NumberN# 2716
ReferencesKM# 98, Schön# 97, Y# 105
Obverse
Christopher Columbus's ships, the Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria sailing to right. Below the value, with mint mark and name of the author (within sea waves).
Lettering:
REPVBBLICA ITALIANA
VEROI
L. 500
R
Engraver: Guido Veroi
Reverse
Bust of woman in Renaissance dress, representing Italy, surrounded by 19 shields. From lower left the shields are: Genova, Torino, Aosta, Milano, Trento, Venezia, Trieste, Udine, Bologna, Firenze, Ancona, Perugia, Roma, L'Aquila, Napoli, Bari, Potenza, Catanzaro, Sicilia, Cagliari. The last two are hidden behind the bust.
Below the name of the engraver.
Lettering: GIAMPAOLI
Engraver: Pietro Giampaoli
Edge
Raised lettering with the date within six stars (three for each sides)
Lettering: REPVBBLICA ITALIANA 1960
