Italy

2018

Commemorative coin

The 60th Anniversary of the establishment of the Italian Ministry of Health

Official Journal of the European Union

The design shows an allegorical representation of Health with some symbols of the activities of the Ministry: Environment, Research, Nutrition and Medicine. On the left the logo ‘RI’, acronym of the Italian Republic; above the mintmark of the Mint of Rome ‘R’; at the base of the female figure the initials of the author Silvia Petrassi. From left to right, in semi-circle, the inscription ‘MINISTERO DELLA SALUTE’ and the dates ‘1958-2018’. The coin’s outer ring depicts the 12 stars of the European flag.

Additional information

From 1861 to 1958, the Ministry of the Interior was responsible for health. In 1958, the Ministry of Health was founded. With the gradual transfer of numerous competences to the regions, it was essentially left with only basic and coordinating tasks. A reform of the Italian ministerial bureaucracy led to the merger of the Ministry with the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs in 1999. In 2001 it was re-established as the Ministry of Health, in 2008 the two ministries were merged again, then split again in 2009. The coin shows the head of a young woman on the left as an allegory of health. On the right, the ministry's areas of responsibility - research, medicine, nutrition and the environment - are symbolically represented by the double helix of DNA, the staff of Hermes, an ear of wheat, a fish, a pumpkin and an apple.

Edge lettering

Designer