5 + 10 euro San Maríno 2003 - Olympic Games Athens

Date of issue: 28th august 2003
Designs by Colaneri
Minting: PROOF at I.P.Z.S.,Rome
Silver count: 925/1000
5 Euro: weight 18g, diameter: 32 mm
10 Euro: weight 22g, diameter: 34 mm
Maximum coinage: 37,766 complete sets

The date of the first Olympic Games has been determined, according to the chronology of Eusebius, as 776 B.C. and after that, the great pan-Hellenic event was held regularly every four years for more than 12 centuries until the Roman emperor Theodosius, at the explicit request of the Bishop of Milan, decreed their end in 393 A.D. The name Olympics originates from the city of Olympus, consecrated to the god Zeus and the site, according to tradition, of the dispute between Uranus and Zeus for possession of the Universe. All the gods competed at Olympus, originating the Games, and Apollo was the winner. The 5 Euro coin shows the classic disciplines of the ancient Olympic Games: The Stadion, a footrace on a track measuring 600 feet (approx. 192 m.); throwing the disk, wonderfully depicted by the sculptor Fidia; throwing the javelin, chariots racing and boxing. On April 6, 1896, the first modern Olympic Games opened in Athens, in response to the wishes and with the organization of the French baron Pierre Fredi de Coubertin. The 10 euro coin shows a number of the modern disciplines: fencing, water polo, gymnastics, figures and symbols representing the modern Olympic Games. The artist Colaneri has designed on the back of both coins a free interpretation of the coat of arms of San Marino: out of the towers come three plumes, that with the addition of two circles, create an ornamental motif reminiscent of the Olympic symbol. The blackbirds can be seen at the base and underneath, out of the flame that is the symbol of the opening of the games, a smaller flame in the shape of a dove (Peace) breaks off and flies away.