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Italy’s bimetallic 500 lire coins, which also sported a Braille inscription and were designed by a female sculptor-engraver, were struck from 1982 to 2001 and were among the first coins of their kind struck in large quantities for widespread use. Click image to enlarge.

When Italy replaced its 500 lire note of the 1960s and 1970s with a 500 lire coin in 1982, history was made. The Italian 500 lire became one of the first widely circulating bimetallic coins in the world, featuring a two-part construction consisting of an aluminum-bronze center in a stainless steel ring. However, the coin’s then-novel metallic composition wasn’t the only thing that made the Italy 500 lire special.

The 1982 Italian 500 Lire was also among the earliest of widely distributed coins in the world to carry Braille, a series of raised dots to help those with vision challenges read; this inclusive feature was seen on the upper portion of the coin’s outer ring on the reverse, spelling out the denomination “L.500” in a fashion that could be interpreted by those who couldn’t see the coin’s inscriptions.

The coin’s design itself is also notable, having been crafted by Italian medalist and engraver Laura Cretara; her artwork was featured on the widely seen 500 lire at a time when female sculptor-engravers were still relatively uncommon in the numismatic world. Cretara’s obverse motif is anchored by a female bust with feathered wings emanating from the temple, representing the Republic of Italy; the coin’s reverse depicts Piazza del Quirinale, which was established in 1583 by Pope Gregory XIII and has since hosted some 30 popes, 12 Italian presidents, and four kings.

The series kicked off with a respectable mintage of 162,000 for the 1982 coin, though the production output for the bimetallic 500 lire mushroomed in the years that followed. Most circulating issues saw mintages ranging between 130 million and 200 million. Proofs were also struck for collectors. The coins were struck at the Rome Mint and sport an “R” mintmark on the reverse indicating such. The last of the bimetallic 500 lire coins was produced in 2001, when Italy and much of the rest of western Europe was moving into a unified monetary system based on the Euro. The Italian 500 lire coin was demonetized on February 28, 2002.

The distinctive bimetallic coin wasn’t Italy’s first to carry a 500 lire denomination; Italy struck a long-running silver 500 lire coin beginning in 1958 that remains popular with collectors today. But the 1982 bimetallic 500 lire was a first of its kind for Italy and helped chart a new path for modern coins on a global scale.