San Marino · Bartolomeo Borghesi

Bartolomeo Borghesi was born in 1781 in Savignano near Rimini. He initially studied law, but soon turned to the study of Roman antiquity. He was particularly interested in coins and inscriptions as historical sources. Using names, official titles, portraits and periods of coin production, he investigated the political structures and chronology of the Roman Republic and the imperial period.

His fields of research included the so-called consular fasti (Konsularfasten), ancient lists of the highest Roman officeholders. Borghesi compared surviving texts with inscriptions and coin finds in order to fill gaps and assign individuals to specific families or periods of office. This combination of numismatics, epigraphy and prosopographical research was particularly influential methodologically in the study of antiquity at the time. He disseminated many of his findings in treatises and through extensive correspondence with other European scholars. Parts of his work were not collected and published until after his death.

From 1821, Borghesi lived in San Marino, where he remained until his death in 1860. The small republic provided him with a permanent place of residence and work. From there, he maintained contacts with researchers, collectors and academic institutions in several countries. As a result, his name became closely associated with San Marino, although he had been born outside its territory. He also undertook duties in the public life of the republic.

The information on the coin issue does not indicate a specific round anniversary. The choice can instead be explained by Borghesi’s decades-long association with San Marino and his role in European scholarship on antiquity. 2004 was also the first year in which the states of the euro area and treaty-associated microstates could issue national 2-euro commemorative coins. San Marino thus used this new coin format for a figure from its scientific and cultural history.