Italy: Bold Proof and Colour Silver Coin Marks 2023 – 2025 Around the World Voyage of the Amerigo Vespucci

It is one year since the Italian Navy’s training sailing vessel, the Amerigo Vespucci left Genoa on Saturday the 1st July 2023 for a circa 20-month World tour of over 40,000 nautical miles calling at 31 ports and touching 28 countries and five continents. At ninety years of age, the Amerigo Vespucci is the oldest naval vessel of the Italian Navy, pristine at almost a century of undisputed beauty and service. She sailed out for the World tour, combining the traditional training activity of officer cadets, promotion of the ‘Made in Italy’ denotation of manufacturing and excellence in the countries and ports covered by the campaign.

The event was accompanied an aeronautic flyover of the Italian Air Force’s national acrobatic team Frecce Tricolori as well as an over-past of the Italian Navy’s aviation formation with displays of the F-35B Lightning II and AV-8B Harrier II fighter jets. As a UNESCO and UNICEF ambassador, the Vespucci will also fly the flag of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) renowned for their commitment to environmental sustainability and sea protection initiatives.

The Vespucci left the Mediterranean basin and sailed along the African Coast until she reached Capo Verde where she then crossed the Atlantic Ocean for Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The journey then took the Vespucci to Buenos Aires, arriving in November last year with only enough crew for maintenance. She will set sail in April 2024 around the Cape Horn of South America bound for Chile and then up to Los Angeles where a new crew of 1st class officer cadets will board and embark for Honolulu. One of the most exciting stages of the tour will be when the Vespucci arrives in Japan and the Philippines before sail down to Australia. From the northern coast of the Land down under, the crew will continue through Asia and Middle East to return to the Mediterranean through the Suez Channel and back to her homeport in La Spezia scheduled for February 2025 and what will surely be to huge national celebrations.

Designed by Emanuele Ferretti, the obverse side features a Heraldic coat of arms of the Italian Navy formed by a Samnite shield topped with the naval crown insignia and depicting the symbols of the four historic Italian maritime republics of Venice, Genoa, Pisa and Amalfi. The crest is flanked by the inscription REPUBBLICA ITALIANA which is placed below. The reverse side features the actual logo of the 2023-2025 World Tour of the Amerigo Vespucci Ship as its central design. It is composed of a stylised depiction of the historic Training Ship of the Italian Navy and the inscription AMERIGO VESPUCCI TOUR MONDIALE 2023-2025. The logo is accented by colours of the Italian flag and gold highlighting the bow of the ship. To the lower right is the denomination 5 EURO and centred is the year of issue, 2024 with the name of the designer, E.FERRETTI seen just under the year. To the left is the mintmark, a capital letter R identifying the Mint of Rome.

Available from the 8^th March, each coin is specially encapsulated and presented in a coin folder with side magnetic closure. For additional information, please visit the online webshop of the Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato Italiano – IPZS.