Italy

2019

Commemorative coin

The 500th anniversary of the death of Leonardo da Vinci

Official Journal of the European Union

The design shows a detail of the painting ‘Dama con l'ermellino’ (Lady with an Ermine) by Leonardo da Vinci (Czartoryski Museum in Krakow). On the left, the inscription ‘Leonardo’, the initials of the author Maria Angela Cassol ‘MAC’ and the logo ‘RI’ acronym of the Italian Republic; on the right, ‘R’, mintmark of the Mint of Rome and the dates ‘1519-2019’, respectively the year of Leonardo’s death and the year of the coin issuance. The coin’s outer ring depicts the 12 stars of the European flag.

Additional information

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) was an Italian painter, sculptor, architect, anatomist, mechanic, engineer and natural philosopher. He is considered one of the most famous universal scholars of all times. In 1489/1490, he painted a portrait of one of the Duke of Milan's mistresses, Cecilia Gallerani (1473-1536), by order of the Duke of Milan, Ludovico Sforza. The "Lady with the Ermine" belongs to the collection of the Czartoryski Museum in Krakow. Cecilia Gallerani's straight parted hair is covered with a transparent bonnet (cuffia) of gauze, the edge of which can be seen just above the eyebrows and the straps of which run under the chin. The hood is held by a horizontal narrow band (lenza). It has a short braid at the back of the head.

Edge lettering

Designer