Italy - 500 lires 1965 R - Dante Alighieri

The coin's story

This 500 lire coin in 835 thousandths silver celebrates the 700th anniversary of the birth of Dante Alighieri, born in Florence in 1265. Considered the father of the Italian language, Dante established, with his treatise De vulgari eloquentia and above all the Divine Comedy, vernacular Italian as a literary language in place of Latin. The obverse bears his profile and the reverse an evocation of the Divine Comedy. The coin was designed by the sculptor Goffredo Verginelli and engraved by Guerrino Mattia Monassi. It was struck at the Rome Mint in 5,000,000 pieces. The edge bears in relief 7° CENTENARIO DELLA NASCITA DI DANTE (7th centenary of the birth of Dante), the coin was demonetised on 28 February 2002.