On January 1, 1999, the European Monetary Union introduced the euro as a common currency to be used by the
financial institutions of member countries; Three years later, on 1 January 2002, the euro became the sole
currency for everyday transactions with the member countries and San Marino replaced its national currency.
The third smallest state in Europe (after the Holy See and Monaco) also claims to be the
world's oldest republic. According to tradition, it was founded by a Christian stonemason named Marino in 301
A.D. San Marino's foreign policy is aligned with that of Italy. Social and political trends in the republic also
track closely with those of its larger neighbor. As the world looks to the third millennium A.D., the coins of San
Marino reflect a pursuit of the history of thought and the achievements of mankind. The themes of 1997's issues
celebrate the arts and human communications.
Borders
Italy 39 km
Economy
Population: 28,503 (July 2004 est.) GDP per capita: $ 32978.98
The motif of the 1 lira is an example of the oldest forms of artistic expression, showing a deer adapted
from a 15.000-year-old carving discovered in 1879 in the rocks of the Altamura Caves in Spain.
Literature, theme of 2 lire, is represented by an image of one of the greatest poems of all times, Dante
Alighieri, and his Divine Comedy, as conveyed by Comenico di Francesco, il Michelino, in his painting in the
Florence Cathedral.
On the 5 lire is a representation of Hamlet's soliloquy before the skull of Yorick, commemorating the
Theatre through one of the greatest dramatists of all times, William Shakespeare, and his most emblematic work.
A reconstruction of perhaps the most important monument of Ancient Hellas, the statue of Zeus at Olympia,
symbolizes architecture on the 10 lire.
In sharp contrast, the 20 lire represents the Cinema, the youngest of the artistic disciplines (even if it is 100
years old) with a strip of film bearing images of the Charlie Chaplin classic Modern Times
A giant leap across thousands of miles takes to Sculpture on the 50 lire, and a work from the Chinese Han
Dynasty in the 2nd century A.D., featuring a running horse.
In the classical European tradition is the "pas de deux" representing Dance on the 100 lire.
A painting that represents Painting is the unusual subject of the 200 lire, featuring a detail modified from
The Artist's Studio by grand master Jan Vermeer.
Music is featured in classical fashion on the 500 lire, with a woman playing the pipes as she appears on the
vase painted by the Hellenic, Karneia, in Southern Italy around 400 B.C.
And the silver 1,000 lire portrays art as a means of interplanetary communication, symbolized by
a detail from the plaque attached to the American space probe Pioneer 10.
For further information, about gold, silver and divisional sets of coins
of the Republic of San Marino, please contact: Azienda Autonoma Di Stata Filatelica Numismatica, P.O.Box 1, San
Marino, 47031 Republic of San Marino, telephone +378 882365, Fax +378 882363. Service, 10001 Aerospace Road,
Lanham, MD 20706, Telephone 202-283-2646
