Written by the Maison Or & Bijoux Cannes team · updated
| Country | Italy |
|---|---|
| Metal | 835‰ silver |
| Weight | 11 g |
| Fine silver | 9.185 g (calculated: 11 g × 0.835) |
| Diameter | 29.5 mm (29.3 mm in some catalogues) |
| Edge | Raised lettering, including the date |
| Years struck | 1958-1961 and 1964-1967 for circulation; 1968-1970 and 1980-2001 for collector sets |
| Mint | Rome (letter R) |
| Engravers | Pietro Giampaoli (obverse), Guido Veroi (reverse) |
| References | KM# 98; Gigante 8; Pagani 2101; Montenegro 2 |
On one side, a Renaissance-style female bust ringed by a chain of coats of arms; on the other, Christopher Columbus's three ships sailing to the right: this is the silver 500 lire coin Italy put into circulation in 1958. One feature often puzzles owners: neither face bears a date, because the year is written on the edge. Almost 98 million pieces were struck for circulation between 1958 and 1967, which is why it so often turns up in inherited collections.
Bust of a woman facing left, a figure of Italy in Renaissance taste, with the name “GIAMPAOLI” in a cartouche below. Around it, a chain of 19 shields of cities and regions (Genoa, Turin, Aosta, Milan… down to Sicily and Cagliari); two further blank shields are half hidden behind the bust. No legend and no date on this side.
The Niña, the Pinta and the Santa María sailing right over stylised waves, pennants flying in the direction of travel. Around them, “REPVBBLICA ITALIANA”; at the bottom, “L. 500” and the letter R for the Rome mint. The name “VEROI” is tucked between the waves on the left.
To read the date, turn the coin and look at the edge. The low-mintage circulation years are 1965 and 1967. The two commemoratives of the same format (1961 and 1965) and the 1957 trial strike are also listed, as they are often mixed up with the regular type.
| Year | Coin | Mintage | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1957 | “PROVA” trial strike | about 1,000 planned; over 2,200 according to a 2000 inquiry | Flags against the wind; PROVA on the reverse; given to members of parliament. |
| 1958 | Caravels | 24,240,000 | First year, released on 28 August 1958. |
| 1959 | Caravels | 19,360,000 | |
| 1960 | Caravels | 24,080,000 | Highest mintage along with 1958. |
| 1961 | Caravels | 6,560,000 | |
| 1961 | Centenary of Italian Unification | 27,120,000 | Dated 1961, also struck in 1962 and 1963. |
| 1962-1963 | Caravels | none struck | Replaced by the Unification commemorative. |
| 1964 | Caravels | 4,880,000 | |
| 1965 | Caravels | 3,120,000 | Circulated alongside the Dante coin. |
| 1965 | 7th centenary of Dante | 5,000,000 | Different design, same use. |
| 1966 | Caravels | 13,120,000 | |
| 1967 | Caravels | 2,480,000 | Lowest circulation mintage. |
| 1968 | Caravels, collector set | 100,000 | Sold in the mint's annual sets. |
| 1969-1970 | Caravels, collector sets | unknown | |
| 1980-2001 | Caravels, collector sets | unknown | Mirror-field version in some years. |
Circulation mintages for 1958-1967 from Panorama Numismatico (total 97,840,000), cross-checked for 1966 and 1967 with CoinVarieties; 1968 from CoinVarieties; commemoratives from the Italian Wikipedia. Figures for the collector sets after 1968 were not found.
Many owners think they hold an “undated” coin. Neither the obverse nor the reverse shows a year: it appears only on the edge, in raised letters, after the words REPVBBLICA ITALIANA and between two groups of stars. Turn the coin slowly under a lamp; a magnifier helps.
This has a practical consequence: a 1958 coin and a 1995 coin look identical face on. Only the edge separates a circulation piece (1958 to 1967) from a coin taken out of a collector set (1968-1970, then 1980 to 2001).
Set coins have usually never circulated: crisp surfaces, original lustre, sometimes a mirror field in the years when the Rome mint offered that finish. A circulation piece, by contrast, shows a few years of wear in purses and pockets. When the condition is good, check the year too: 1965 and 1967 are the least struck dates, with 3.12 and 2.48 million pieces, against more than 24 million in 1958 and in 1960.
The project was launched in 1957 by the Treasury minister Giuseppe Medici, who wanted a precious-metal coin to symbolise the newly regained stability of the lira. Chief engraver Pietro Giampaoli tried several reverses (Saint George, David, a ploughman, flowers) before the caravels won the day.
At the end of 1957, a first version marked PROVA (trial) was struck and handed to members of parliament at the close of the legislature. On 10 December, a naval captain pointed out that the pennants at the mastheads blew to the left while the ships were heading right: the flags would be against the wind. Sailors disagreed, some arguing the point of sail was possible close-hauled. The mint chose to correct the design before regular striking: on every circulation coin, from 1958 on, the flags fly in the direction of travel.
The 1957 trial is therefore recognised by three signs: the word PROVA on the reverse, flags pointing left and the date 1957 on the edge, where REPUBBLICA is spelt with a U. Its mintage is disputed: about a thousand pieces as first intended, more than 2,200 according to a Guardia di Finanza inquiry in 2000.
The 1961 Unification centenary 500 lire. Same silver and weight, but an entirely different design signed Guido Veroi: a figure of Italy and a four-horse chariot, with 1861 and 1961. Its edge carries an inscription specific to the centenary.
The 1965 Dante 500 lire. Portrait of the poet on the obverse, an allegory of the Divine Comedy on the reverse; the edge celebrates the seventh centenary of his birth. It circulated at the same time as the Caravels.
The bimetallic 500 lire (1982-2001). A smaller coin (25.8 mm, 6.8 g) with a yellow centre and white ring, showing Piazza del Quirinale on the reverse: no silver at all.
The 1957 trial strike. Same bust, same ships, but the word PROVA on the reverse and flags pointing left: see above.
For other foreign silver, see the Morgan dollar, or send photos through our coin identification page.
835‰ silver wears quickly in a pocket. On the obverse, the most exposed reliefs are the hair and the embroidered garment of the bust: on a heavily circulated coin, these details melt into a smooth mass. The small shields around the rim then lose their inner figures, and finally their outline.
On the reverse, look at the swelling sails of the three ships, the rigging, the flags at the mastheads and the pattern of the waves. On a lightly worn coin the VEROI signature between the waves reads clearly; it vanishes quickly with wear.
The edge matters too: if the lettering is flattened, the date becomes illegible and the coin loses part of its interest. Coins kept for a long time take on a grey or iridescent toning; do not remove it, since cleaning leaves fine scratches and dulls the metal. Finally, check the weight: 11 g for a genuine coin. A clear difference or a dull ring should make you think of a copy, and a numismatist can confirm it.
These coins have a direct link with the history of the French Riviera. The County of Nice belonged to the Kingdom of Sardinia until the Treaty of Turin of 24 March 1860, which ceded it to France in exchange for Napoleon III's backing of Italian unification; Tende and La Brigue only became French in 1947. Giuseppe Garibaldi, one of the makers of the unity celebrated by the 1961 500 lire, was born in Nice in 1807 and opposed the cession of his home town. Lire stopped being legal tender in Italy on 28 February 2002: the Caravels found today are collectors' pieces, which you can bring to the Cannes shop to read their edge and identify them.
On the edge, in raised letters, after the words REPVBBLICA ITALIANA. Neither face carries one.
You also need to find the word PROVA on the reverse and the year 1957 on the edge. Without both, have the coin checked by a numismatist.
No. After 1967 the coin was only struck for the collector sets sold by the mint, from 1968 to 1970 and then from 1980 to 2001.
No. Lira coins and banknotes lost their legal tender status on 28 February 2002, after the switch to the euro.