Dear friends passionate about numismatics, here we are again talking about one of our favorite topics: coins. The currency we are going to talk about today is that of 500 lire with the caravels. This coin has a very particular history. It is in fact the only coin in 835 silver coined by the Italian state; following the establishment of the republic. Created to circulate freely in the economy rather than merely for celebratory purposes. Unfortunately, the value of this coin is not very high, except for the weight of the silver that composes it. We must, however, make a dutiful exception for the trial version. There is a version that owns the writing with this denomination and that, of course, has great value and potential.
History and description
History of this coin is undoubtedly touching. It was conceived and strongly desired by the minister Giuseppe Medici for a certain reason: to symbolize the newfound stability of the Italian lira following the Second World War; thanks to the economic boom that the country was experiencing. Medici, he wanted this spirit of recovery to be clear to all citizens; on the other hand, if it was happening, it was entirely thanks to them. The description of this coin also has an interesting history; his design was conceived by two different minds:
The first was that of Pietro Giampaoli, who took care of the illustration of the obverse side of the coin. It depicts the profile portrait of a woman in Renaissance clothing (probably inspired by her wife). Guido Veroiinstead, it is the one that most made this coin go down in history; as inspired by the same inspiration of rebirth dictated by Medici, he decided to depict the most patriotic that existed at that time; the caravels of Columbus.
Thanks to that idea that this coin became one of the most beautiful and loved in the Italian republic. The representation of the three ships, then, caused a lot of chatter as many, erroneously, defined the sails “upside down”. Afterwards, you think that the debate is so much discussed, that of it the design was modified. To date, as already mentioned, this coin is not worth so much as many examples were minted. If you are the lucky one holders of the currency with the word “test” you could find in your hands a copy of the cost of even € 10,000. Remember, however, that it is above all the conditions that determine the price; an old and damaged coin will never be able to yield such a figure.
