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500 Lire commemorative coins

500 Lire silver (km#): 1961, Centennial of Italian unification.

This coin was minted for three consecutive years, this is the reason why during 1962 and 1963 the silver 500 lire circulation type (Caravels) were not minted.

500 Lire silver (km#100): 1965, 700th anniversary of Dante's birth.

obv. Dante Alighieri's portrait. Dante (b. 1265- d. 1321) is considered to be the father of Italian language. His De Vulgari Eloquentia and of course the Divina Commedia (Divine Comedy), established Italian vernacular as literary language replacing latin. The Divine Comedy tells the story of Dante visiting Hell, Purgatory and Paradise represented on the rev.: Hell's flames, clouds that cover Mount Purgatory, and sun + stars symbolizing Paradise (my interpretation).

Please note: all the following bimetallic 500 lire have the same obv. wich is the same of the 500 lire bimetallic (KM 111) Circulation type.

All the following pictures are taken from the:

Please visit this most interesting site with a lot of pictures of almost all bimetallic coins and tokes on earth , by clicking the above logo.

500 Lire 1993 bimetallic (km# 160): Centenary of Italy's Central Bank

(picture by Martin Peeters)

This coin has two variations: small and large Grossi (which is the engraver's name), see the picture below (by Paul Backer)

This coins has also been minted by error without the "1" in the date 1893. So the 100th anniversary has become the 1100th anniversary! See the image below and click on the coin for an enlargement.

500 Lire 1994 bimetallic (km# 167): Luca Pacioli

(picture by Martin Peeters)

This coins commemorates the 500th anniversary of Pacioli's mathematical work.
Luca Pacioli (born 1470 - 1510), a Franciscan monk, was an Italian mathematician known for his "Summa de arithmetica, geometria, proportioni et proportionalità" (1494) which is the world's first printed arithmetic and algebra manual.

500 Lire ND (1996) Bimetallic (km# 181): 70th anniversary of Italian Statistic Institute.

(picture by Martin Peeters)

The coin show the Italian Statistic Institute's building.

500 Lire ND (1997) Bimetallic (km # 187): 50th anniversary of Italian Street Police.

The coin shows the Street Police emblem.

500 Lire ND (1998) Bimetallic (km # 193): Fao issue

This coin commemorates IFAD's 20th anniversary.

500 Lire ND (1999) Bimetallic:

This coin commemorates the 20th anniversary of the first European Parliament's elections.

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