THE FIGHT AGAINST THE MAFIA ON TWO EURO

The State Printing Office-Mint paid tribute to judges Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino with a two-euro coin legal tender in all EU member states and ordinary circulation, coined to commemorate the sacrifice of the two magistrates in the struggle to the mafia, on the thirtieth anniversary of their disappearance.

The coin is part of the Numismatic Collection 2022 and commemorates the efforts in the fight against the mafia of the magistrates Giovanni Falcone (Palermo, 18 May 1939 – Palermo, 23 May 1992) and Paolo Borsellino (Palermo, 19 January 1940 – Palermo, 19 July 1992).

Issued on May 17 by the Ministry of Economy and Finance, it was created by the artist of the Italian Mint Valerio De Seta: the image is inspired by a famous photograph by Tony Gentile taken on March 27, 1992, a few months before the tragic attacks that put an end to their lives, when the two magistrates Falcone and Borsellino were in a public event at the Trinacria Palace in Palermo, in the Kalsa district, on the occasion of the presentation of the candidacy of Giuseppe Ayala to the Chamber of Deputies.

On one side of the coin appears the smiling faces of the two judges; at the top the inscription “Falcone-Borsellino”; under the dates “1992 2022”, respectively the year of the death of the magistrates and the year of issue of the coin, among which the acronym of the Italian Republic “RI” is inserted; on the right “R”, identification of the Mint of Rome; on the left, finally, “VdS”, initials of the author Valerio de Seta; in turn, the twelve stars of the European Union.

These are not coins minted only for collectors but they will have full legal value with ordinary circulation, even if obviously collectors will not let them escape. The circulation, even if significant, will in fact remain limited and many will try to keep them as soon as they come out, further limiting their circulation.

The two-euro coins featuring Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino will be produced for a nominal value of six million euros, corresponding to a circulation of three million coins. It is a tribute to Falcone and Borsellino 30 years after the Capaci and via D’Amelio massacres.