Historical Sketch

In the mid-13th century, San Marino obtained independence rights, and in the year 1600, the city statutes were passed as base for statehood. Independence was recognized both by Napoleonic France and the 1815 Vienna Congress, and San Marino did not join the Italian Unification either. In 1862, newly formed Italy and San Marino signed a treaty of friendship and good neighborhood. San Marino is not a member of the European Union.

Monetary History Overview

The 1862 Treaty of Good Neighbourhood and Friendship between San Marino and Italy established that the San-Marinese coinage was to be in the Italian standard, and that the respective coins were to be mutually recognized. Subsequent monetary agreements allotted quotas for the issuance of San-Marinese coins. Effectively, the San-Marinese Lira was identical with the Italian. The issuance of San-Marinese coins was suspended by monetary agreement 1914, where San Marino also renounced to the right to issue paper money, which made the notes of the Bank officially current. San-Marinese coinage was resumed after the amended Treaty of Good Neighbourhood and Friendship of 1931, but only until 1939. The monetary convention of September of that year terminated the coin issuance for good. Since then, San Marino uses the Italian currency.

In 1971, San Marino and Italy concluded a monetary convention to the end of resuming San-Marino's coin issuance. The coins in Italian currency were legal tender in both San Marino and Italy but were mainly produced for sale to collectors and tourists. In 1999, Italy introduced the European Euro, and after 2002, the Lira ceased to circulate. San Marino, not being a member of the European Monetary Union, could issue Euro coins in its own right. For this reason, Italy and the EU agreed in 2001 that Italy cedes a percentage of its mintage quota to San Marino. San Marino's coins are legal tender in the entire Euro area, but still are mainly sold to collectors and tourists.

Currency Units Timeline

Currency Institutes Timeline

Monetary History Sources