Commemorative coins - San Marino 4

To complete the zodiac set of 12 coins, San Marino issued the last 3 coins in 2021.
The last set consists of the Capricorn, Aquarius and Pisces -coins.

Each of the 2021 coins has a mintage of 16000 brass coins.

The Capricorn-coin (It: capricorno)

Capricorn - coin 2021 RSM

The Aquarius-coin (It: acquario)

Aquarius - coin 2021 RSM

The Pisces-coin (It: pesci)

Pisces - coin 2021 RSM

With these 3 coins, the set is of western zodiac sign coins is completed.

to be continued...

Commemorative coins - San Marino 3

The set of Zodiac coins of San Marino, coninued in 2020 with 3 additional coins: Libra, Scorpio and Saggitarius. Each of the 2020 coins has a mintage of 16000 brass pieces

The first coin dated 2020, is the Libra-coin (It: bilancia).

2020 Libra - coin  RSM

The second coin, is the Scorpio-coin (It: scoprione)

2020 Scorpio - coin RSM

The third and last coin for 2020 is the Sagittarius-coin (It: sagittario)

2020 Sagittarius - coin RSM

At the moment of wrinting this article, the 2020-coins, were still available on the website of the San Marino post, at the price of the face value. Each of the coins were delivered in a hard plastic holder.

The 2019 and 2018 coins were already sold out.

to be continued...

Commemorative coins - San Marino 2

In 2019, 4 coins were added to the set: Gemini, Cancer, Leo and Virgo.

Similar to the 2018 coins, is the obverse side, with the sun, all zodiac symbols and the country's name.

Gemini - coin 2019 RSM

 

Cancer - coin 2019 RSM

The Gemini-coin (It: gemelli) shows two mirrored toddlers reaching for the stars, while the Cancer-coin (It: cancro) depicts a crab.

Leo - coin 2019 RSM

The fifth coin is the Leo-sign (It: leone) and the sixth coin is the Virgo-sign (It: vergine)

Virgo - coin 2019 RSM

All coins have a face value of € 5, but sinde they are no longer available on the San Marino Post website, prices start to go up.

to be continued ....

Commemorative coins - San Marino 1

When paying in Europe with cash, the chance of spending or receiving a commemorative € 2 - coin, is not that uncommon. Till 2023, about 610 (!) different € 2 coins, other than the regular ones, are in use.

Also higher denominations are minted, but those coins are never seen in circulation.
First of all because they are printed in very limited numbers, or sold at a higher price than the nominal value.

One specific set of coins drew my attention. The set consists of 12 coins, issued over 4 years (in 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021). 12 coins, that sounds familiar ... indeed these 12 coins are dedicated to the 12 western zodiac signs.

In 2018, the first two coins were issued.
Each coin has a face value of € 5 and the reverse side is common to all 12 coins.

reverse side of the coins

The outer circle, shows all 12 symbols of the western zodiac.
In the second circle, we see the issuing country : "Repubblica di San Marino", and the designer's name A. Masini. The third circle shows all lunar phases, around the sun in the centre of the coin.
Behind the sun we see a compass rose, and the sun is surrounded by 3 feathers, a symbol of the San Marino Republic.

On the front side of the first coin, the Aries (It: ariete) or Ram is shown

Aries issue 2018

The second coin of 2018 depicts the Taurus (It: toro) or Bull.

Taurus issue 2018

Each coin shows the year of issuing (here 2018), the face value of 5 euro, and the name of the constellation. Also the stars are depicted, and the related symbol is repeated 10 times on the perimeter of the coin.

The set of 2018 coins have a mintage of 15000 coins (brass).
They are sold out on the official website of the San Marino postal services.

to be continued...