# First San Marino Coins (1864)

URL: https://allhistories.com/sanmarino/timeline/1864-first-san-marino-coins
Location: City of San Marino, San Marino
Themes: Key Events

For centuries San Marino had used the coinage of its neighbours, above all papal scudi and baiocchi, and the Republic had no mint of its own. After unification, Italy adopted the lira divided into 100 centesimi, and San Marino aligned itself with the new decimal currency. In 1864 the Republic issued its first coins, copper pieces of 5 centesimi. A copper 10-centesimi coin followed in 1875. These coins were struck in Italy for the Republic and were of the same standard and weight as Italian coins, so that they could circulate freely in the kingdom. The Sammarinese lira was pegged at par to the Italian lira, and the economic treaty of 1865 and later conventions provided that Italy would mint the Republic's coins. Coinage was a significant expression of sovereignty for a state of only a few thousand inhabitants. The conventions of 1872 and 1897 regulated the circulation of Sammarinese coins in Italy and capped the issues of silver pieces, which first appeared in 1898. The Sammarinese lira remained in use until the introduction of the euro in 2002, after which San Marino continued to issue its own euro coins, prized by collectors.

## Why it matters
The first coins of 1864 were a visible sign of San Marino's statehood and the start of its numismatic tradition.

Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs of San Marino: Domenico Fattori (Non-partisan)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Sammarinese lira](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sammarinese_lira)
- [Italian Wikipedia — Lira sammarinese](https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lira_sammarinese)
- [Wikipedia — Risorgimento And The Italian Neighbour (period overview)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italy%E2%80%93San_Marino_relations)