In Italy there are coins of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 cents, then 1 and 2 euros, as we all know. But a 5 euro one? It really exists, it is issued by the State, it is legal tender (i.e. no one can refuse it by law) and it was created to celebrate the centenary of the birth of Istat, the National Institute of Statistics. It can be purchased at a cost of €85 on the website of the State Mint Printing Institute: it is therefore a collector’s item that we are unlikely to see in circulation, since its market value is much higher than its nominal value. The coin is part of the 2026 Numismatic Collection, the annual program with which the Ministry of Economy and Finance, through the Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato – celebrates Italian history, culture and excellence in precious metal.
The coin is minted in 925‰ silver, in the Uncirculated version, with a limited edition of just 4 thousand copies. On the obverse stands the Istat building and the writing “Repubblica Italiana”, with the name of the author of the project, Petrassi. On the reverse, the centenary logo with the dates 1926 and 2026, the Latin writing Numerus Reipublicae Fundamentum – “the number is the foundation of the Republic” – and a histogram that traces the censuses of the Italian population over time.
Among the other releases of the 2026 Numismatic Collection there are the first 2 euro coins dedicated to the 200th anniversary of the birth of Carlo Collodi with his Pinocchio, and to the 800th anniversary of the death of Saint Francis of Assisi, patron saint of Italy. A special porthole coin is also dedicated to Pinocchio, designed to contain the 2 euro coin inside. And for those who thought they had already seen everything, there is also a coin dedicated to the Cornetto Algida and a one kilo silver coin depicting the Colosseum.
