Obverse. Photo © NumisCorner.com
  • 50 Lire 1986, KM# 192, San Marino, Technological Revolution, Nuclear Fission
  • 50 Lire 1986, KM# 192, San Marino, Technological Revolution, Nuclear Fission
Description

Nuclear fission is a reaction in which the nucleus of an atom splits into two or more smaller nuclei. The fission process often produces gamma photons, and releases a very large amount of energy even by the energetic standards of radioactive decay.

Nuclear fission was discovered on 19 December 1938 in Berlin by German chemists Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann. Physicists Lise Meitner and her nephew Otto Robert Frisch explained it theoretically in January 1939. Frisch named the process "fission" by analogy with biological fission of living cells. In their second publication on nuclear fission in February 1939, Hahn and Strassmann predicted the existence and liberation of additional neutrons during the fission process, opening up the possibility of a nuclear chain reaction.

Engraver: Mario Rossello

Obverse

Depicts a part of the coat of arms of San Marico, the country name above, the motto below.

The elements comprising the coat of arms of San Marino include a shield featuring three mountains with three towers, each adorned with an ostrich feather weather vane. These towers symbolize the citadels of San Marino (La Guaita, La Cesta, and La Montale), while the hills represent the three summits of Monte Titano. The motto "LIBERTAS" in Latin, meaning freedom, is also part of the coat of arms.

REPUBBLICA DI SAN MARINO
LIBERTAS

Reverse

Depicts a symbolic view of nuclear fission, the issue year above, the denomination below, and the engraver's name on the left.

1986
Rossello
L.50

Edge
Characteristics
Type Commemorative Issue (Circulating)
Material Stainless Steel
Weight 6.25 g
Diameter 24.8 mm
Thickness -
Shape round
Alignment Coin
Mint
Italian State Mint and Polygraphic Institute (IPZS)

Related coins

Salmons

Animals

Stainless Steel, 6.25 g, ⌀ 24.8 mm