Italian euro coins

Italian euro coins have a design unique to each denomination, though there is a common theme of famous Italian works of art from one of Italy's renowned artists. Each coin is designed by a different designer, from the 1 cent to the 2 euro coin they are: Eugenio Driutti, Luciana De Simoni, Ettore Lorenzo Frapiccini, Claudia Momoni, Maria Angela Cassol, Roberto Mauri, Laura Cretara and Maria Carmela Colaneri. All designs feature the 12 stars of the EU, the year of imprint, the overlapping letters "RI" for Repubblica Italiana (Italian Republic) and the letter R for Rome.[1] There are no Italian euro coins dated earlier than 2002, even though they were certainly minted earlier, as they were first distributed to the public in December 2001.

The choice of the design of the coins was left to the Italian public by means of a television broadcast where alternative designs were presented, letting the people vote by calling a certain telephone number. However, the 1 euro coin was missing in this election, because Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, the then economy minister, had already decided it would sport the Vitruvian man of Leonardo da Vinci. Leonardo's work is highly symbolic as it represents the Renaissance focus on man as the measure of all things, and has simultaneously a round shape that fits the coin perfectly. As Ciampi observed, this represents the "coin to the service of Man", instead of Man to the service of money.

Italian euro design

For images of the common side and a detailed description of the coins, see euro coins.

Depiction of Italian euro coinage | Obverse side

€ 0.01	€ 0.02	€ 0.05
		The Colosseum in Rome
Castel del Monte, a 13th-century castle in Andria	Mole Antonelliana, a tower symbolising the city of Turin	Colosseum, famous Roman amphitheater
€ 0.10	€ 0.20	€ 0.50
	Unique Forms of Continuity in Space
The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli	Futurist sculpture Unique Forms of Continuity in Space by Umberto Boccioni	Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius
€ 1.00	€ 2.00	€ 2 Coin Edge
Vitruvian Man	Dante Alighieri	for a total of 12 stars
Vitruvian Man, a drawing by Leonardo da Vinci	Dante Alighieri, a portrait by Raphael

Circulating mintage quantities

Face Value[2]	€0.01	€0.02	€0.05	€0.10	€0.20	€0.50	€1.00	€2.00
2002	9,348,599,501	1,098,866,250	1,341,442,204	1,142,083,000	1,411,536,000	1,136,418,000	965,725,300	463,402,200
2003	9,637,000	21,555,000	1,844,000	29,714,000	25,893,000	44,563,000	66,230,000	36,098,000
2004	99,925,000	119,925,000	9,925,000	4,925,000	4,925,000	4,925,000	4,925,000	6,925,000
2005	179,943,900	119,943,900	69,943,900	99,943,900	4,943,900	4,943,900	4,943,900	61,943,900
2006	158,951,700	195,951,700	118,951,700	179,951,700	4,951,700	4,951,700	107,951,700	9,951,700
2007	214,953,000	139,953,000	84,953,000	104,953,000	4,953,000	4,953,000	134,953,000	4,953,000
2008	180,000,000	135,000,000	90,000,000	105,000,000	5,000,000	5,000,000	135,000,000	2,500,000
2009	174.952.000	184.952.000	84.952.000	105.952.000	59.952.000	2.452.000	114.952.000	1.952.000
2010	125.448.100	120.243.400	67.618.100	91.328.400	57.787.000	9.209.800	96.533.100	5.788.100
2011	^**	^**	^**	^**	^**	^**	^**	^**
* No coins were minted that year for that denomination ** Data not available yet *** Small quantities minted for sets only

Identifying marks

National Identifier	RI
Engravers Initials	Different for each coin
€2 Edge inscription

€2 commemorative coins

• 
  50th Anniversary of the Signature of the Treaty of Rome (2007)
• 
  60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (2008)

References

1. Eurocoins in Italy
2. "Circulating mintage quantities". Henning Agt. Retrieved 19 August 2008.

External links

• The Euro Information Website – Italy
• euroHOBBY Italy