Poste San Marino is dedicating the second commemorative two-euro coin of the year to the 800th anniversary of the death of Francis of Assisi. The coin will go on sale from Tuesday, 6 October, two days after the saint’s liturgical feast day.
The choice of subject is what makes this issue truly interesting. Rather than the customary depictions, the design tells the story of the wolf of Gubbio: Francis’s outstretched hand, and the beast’s muzzle turning trustingly towards the very hand that tamed it. Poste San Marino sees the scene as a symbol of a universal message of peace and brotherhood grounded in respect for creation.
Completing the composition is the cord of the Franciscan habit with its three knots, representing the vows of obedience, chastity and poverty. Branches and flowers frame the scene. The obverse was designed by artist Fani Ivanka Taurino.
Three versions, very different mintages
The issue comes in three variants. The uncirculated (fior di conio) version has a mintage of 52,000 coins. The two collector versions, proof and reverse proof, are far more limited, with just 4,000 pieces each.
The coin will be available from 6 October at the Philatelic and Numismatic Shop in Piazzetta Garibaldi 5 and on the official website poste.sm.
Specifications
Face value 2 euros, dated 2026. Weight 8.50 grams, diameter 25.75 millimetres, thickness 2.20 millimetres. The outer ring is made of copper-nickel, while the inner core consists of three layers of nickel-brass, nickel and nickel-brass.
Why 2026
Francis, born in Assisi to Pietro di Bernardone, founded the Order of Friars Minor and lived by renouncing his wealth to pursue an ideal of evangelical poverty. Author of the Canticle of the Creatures, he is regarded as one of the pioneers of Italian vernacular literature. He died in 1226 and was canonised just two years later, in 1228, by Pope Gregory IX.
