San Marino · 530th anniversary of the death of Piero Della Francesca

Issue date28 Apr 2022

Total mintage57,300

EU maximum55,000

Editions2

Edge lettering2 ★ × 6, alternately upright/inverted

InscriptionSAN MARINO / PIERO DELLA FRANCESCA / 1492 / 2022 / R / C.M.

DesignerClaudia Momoni

mintInstituto Poligrafico e Zecca Dello Stato, Roma

Issue occasion

The commemorative coin marks the 530th anniversary of the death of Piero della Francesca. At the center, Federico da Montefeltro is shown in profile, based on a detail from the diptych of the Duke and Duchess of Urbino in the Uffizi in Florence. The portrait is accompanied by the inscriptions “SAN MARINO” and “PIERO DELLA FRANCESCA” and the years 1492 and 2022.

The design

In the centre of the coin, Federico da Montefeltro is depicted in profile. It is an excerpt from the diptych of the Duke and Duchess of Urbino, which is housed in the Uffizien (Florenz). In a semicircle, “SAN MARINO” is inscribed on the left and “PIERO DELLA FRANCESCA” on the right. Immediately to the right of the portrait are the years 1492 and 2022, the letter R for the mint in Rom, and the initials of the coin designer Claudia Momoni, “C.M.”.

The twelve stars of the European flag are depicted on the outer ring of the coin.

Background on the topic

Piero della Francesca was a painter of the Italian Early Renaissance. He came from Borgo San Sepolcro, today’s Sansepolcro in Tuscany, and worked, among other places, in Arezzo, Rimini, Urbino and Rome. His painting is characterised by clearly structured pictorial spaces, tranquil figures and precise treatment of light and perspective. At the same time, he engaged with mathematics and wrote treatises on perspective, geometry and regular solids. Art and the mathematical construction of space were therefore closely connected in his work.

Federico da Montefeltro was initially Count and later Duke of Urbino. As a condottiere, he led troops for various Italian powers in return for payment. He also used the income thus acquired to expand his residence and court. Under his rule, Urbino developed into a centre of humanist culture. Federico had manuscripts collected, supported scholars and artists, and commissioned Piero della Francesca to produce works for his court.

The painting serving as the model belongs to a two-part ruler portrait. The counterpart shows Federico’s wife Battista Sforza. Both appear before an expansive landscape, while the reverse sides show allegorical triumphal processions with personifications of virtues and Latin inscriptions. The work thus combines individual portraits with forms of ancient ruler representation. Battista had probably already died when it was created; the diptych therefore also served a commemorative function.

Federico’s striking profile is connected with a facial injury he sustained in a tournament. The chosen side view shows the uninjured half of his face. At the same time, the strict profile refers to portraits on ancient coins and medals. For this reason, the image can be transferred to a coin round without fundamental alteration.

No direct personal connection between Piero and San Marino can be identified. Rather, the issue follows the practice of the small state of featuring artists, writers and other figures from Italian cultural history on commemorative coins on the occasion of milestone anniversaries.