At least, for now...

A couple weeks ago I snagged another beautiful world coin featuring an absolutely stunning horse image. The coin commemorates the 2000th anniversary of the death of Virgil (the historic Roman poet, best known for his Aeneid).

The coin was minted in 1981 by the Republic of San Marino, an independent country with a very interesting history. With a land area of about 24 square miles, and a population of around 30,000 inhabitants, San Marino mints coins primarily for collectors. Because San Marino is completely surrounded by the country of Italy, it has historically used the same currency and both countries recognize the currency of the other. At the time this coin was minted, the Lira was still used in the area, and thus this coin has a face value of 1000 Lire. It is minted in 83.5% silver, and is about the size of the U.S. Half Dollar. I don't have my Krause handy, so I can't quote a mintage number, but in general, the coins of San Marino are minted in relatively small numbers compared to most modern coins.

This particular coin is the ONLY of its type graded by PCGS or NGC. It is graded a spectacular MS67, and as you can see it is absolutely stunning. I will post a large and sharper version of the image on the Chat Boards.

Have a good weekend every one! Happy collecting!

-Brandon

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