San Marino · 500th anniversary of the death of Raphael

Issue date5 Mar 2020

Total mintage56,500

EU maximum54,000

Editions2

Edge lettering2 ★ × 6, alternately upright/inverted

InscriptionSAN MARINO / 1520 / 2020 / RAFFAELLO / AM / R

DesignerAnnalisa Masini

mintInstituto Poligrafico e Zecca Dello Stato, Roma

Issue occasion

The coin commemorates the 500th anniversary of the death of Raphael. The design depicts the Virgin Mary in profile as a detail from the fresco “Madonna di Casa Santi”, Raphael’s first masterpiece in his family home in Urbino; in the complete fresco, Mary holds the sleeping infant Jesus on her lap. The depiction is complemented by the inscriptions “SAN MARINO”, “1520”, “2020” and “RAFFAELLO”.

The design

The coin’s design features a profile view of the Virgin Mary—an excerpt from the fresco “Madonna di Casa Santi”, the first masterpiece of the very young Raffael, on the walls of his family home in Urbino, which is now home to the renowned Accademia Raffaello. The fresco depicts the Virgin Mary holding the sleeping Infant Jesus on her knees. The scene is characterised by the tender intimacy between mother and son, a recurring motif in Raffael’s works. In the upper right corner of the coin, the issuing country “SAN MARINO” is engraved, alongside the years “1520” and “2020”. The inscription “RAFFAELLO” appears at the bottom, the initials of the artist Annalisa Masini, “AM”, are on the right, and the letter “R”, denoting the Rome Mint, is on the left. The outer ring of the coin bears the twelve stars of the European flag.

Background on the topic

These so-called Raphael Rooms include The School of Athens, a depiction of ancient philosophers that also illustrates the Renaissance understanding of education. After the death of Donato Bramante, he took on tasks in the reconstruction of St Peter’s Basilica. Raffael’s origins and his influence on European art history therefore provided a plausible occasion for a Sammarinese commemorative issue.