| Description : Galileo Galilei (1564‐1642) was an Italian polymath ‐
philosopher, mathematician, engineer, physicist, astronomer and cosmologist. He developed the method of exploring nature
through a combination of experiments, measurements and mathematical analyses and thus became one of the most important
founders of the modern exact natural sciences. Because he advocated the Copernican view of the world, the Catholic Church
conducted an inquisition trial against him in 1632 and forced him to recant. The coinage is a free interpretation of the
relief La fisica antica (Ancient Physics) or The Study of the Planets, created around 1335 by Andrea Pisano
for Giotto's bell tower in Florence, and shows Galileo with his telescopes, built in 1609, 90 and 130 cm long
respectively, with a scroll on his knees. In the background, a stylised atom is represented by six electrons and their
circular orbits, which reach between the stars of Europe. The issue occasion "ANNO MONDIALE DELLA FISICA" (International
Year of Physics) is written in a semicircle at the bottom, "SAN MARINO" at the top. The year "2005" appears under a globe
standing on the table. The letter "R" the mint mark of the Italian mint Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato in
Rome is shown on the left, the initials "LDS" of the designer Luciana De Simoni on the right. |
