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| :: ART AND CULTURE :: MUSEUMS AND MONUMENTS :: |
 
Twelve centuries of coins
The story is one twelve centuries long and with two thousand types of coins minted, which binds the Lucca Mint to Italian Economy. Founded in 650 b.c. under the Longobards, it boasts an uninterrupted activity lasting until 1837 when the last coin was emitted, a two lira silver coin. Since the circulating quantity was sufficient for the requirements of the Lucca State the coining was suspended for good, even if in theory the Lucca mint, which is the oldest in Europe, could still mint its coins, as its authorization to coinage was never abolished.
The first coin that came out of the mint was the golden Tremisse, which represented on one side a six-rayed star and the same number of flames with around the writing "Flavia Luca" - the name "Flavia" indicated the king's residence or corte regia - on the other side of the coin a Latin cross was depicted.
The Republic of Lucca's Mint was always kept with care and attention and carefully kept an eye out for coiners, as a matter of fact starting in 1339 three commissaries were named that carried out their job for a year. With a 1574 decree these commissaries were declared ordinary Magistracy.
Today's Lucca's Mint is reopened, its rooms can be visited in via S. Andrea 45 in the historical centre of Lucca. Inside it we can find the medal showcase in the museum side and various machinery for the coin production that are still used today. Coins are made following traditional methods and with attention to detail, also owing to a deep historical research. Production techniques have in fact remained unchanged throughout the centuries and they guarantee results that are faithful to the original and of high quality. Today the activity is not just the production of coins, but it open s up also on the high-quality goldsmith sector.
"The aimof the reopening of the Mint - explains its founder, Giuliano Marchetti - is that of widening through coins also our knowledge in the historical field. The coin is, in fact, the most reliable witness one can find. There fore the reconstruction of economy in the various centuries can be studied in political and social life. Every coin found in the Lucca mint is accompanied by a card that is not just descriptive, it is mainly historical ".
Lucca Municipality
Lucca Mint
Istituto Poligrafico and State Mint
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