Republic of Italy, beautiful and very rare 500 Lire coin (R3) from 1957, Proof 'Caravelle', the famous coin with the flags against the wind. Condition UNC, with beautiful mirror-like fields. The coin has been evaluated UNC by "Angelo Bazzoni". Mirror-like fields, with light patina, this is why the small lines you can see from the photos are actually due to the darker patina contrasting with the mirror-like fields of the coin (proof). Gigante Gigante UNC catalogue value: €13,000 Montenegro catalogue value: €15,000 #exclusiveselection Coin design of 500 Lire, struck in 1957. The first silver coin of the Italian Republic. It was Giuseppe Medici, the Minister of the Treasury, who decided to mint the first silver coin of the Italian Republic, with a value of 500 Lire. The design was developed by the chief engraver of the mint, Pietro Giampaoli, who chose, for the obverse, the bust of a woman dressed in Renaissance style and surrounded by the coats of arms of Italian cities and regions. While this side was immediately appreciated, Giampaoli’s proposal for the reverse, showing a rose, was not accepted. Another engraver, Guido Veroi, designed a reverse with the three caravels of Christopher Columbus, thus recalling and reinforcing the connection with the Renaissance style of Giampaoli’s obverse. The production of the Pattern coins started in 1957, when 2,200 pieces of the 500 Lira were released. The success with the public was immediate, since the images of the new coin were published in Italian newspapers. As soon as the design was published, a real quarrel arose around the three vessels: in December 1957 the captain of the Navy, Giusco di Calabria, raised the doubt that the flags on the mainmasts of the Niña, the Pinta and the Santa María were drawn “upwind”. The issue created a debate which involved many experts in the field; some asserted that the arrangement of the flags was totally incorrect, while others believed that the scene depicted a different way of sailing, “close-hauled”. The issue of the new coin was however too important: so, before the struck of the circulation coins, the dies were modified, and in August 1958, the 500 lira Caravelle began circulating with the flags in the traditional position. This story then made the 1,070 designs with the flags “upwind” unique items, sought-after by every Italian coin collector.