Republic of San Marino stamps and coins, a collector's guide

Some countries are collected for how much they issue and some for how little. San Marino is the second kind. With around 34,000 residents it mints its own euros and has printed stamps for nearly a century and a half, and the small runs have turned its coins and stamps into a quiet obsession for collectors. Here’s what to look for, where to see it and where to buy without overpaying.

Euros with a face of their own

San Marino isn’t in the EU, but its 2012 monetary agreement with the Union allows it to mint euro coins. They’re identical to other euros in value, technical specification and common side, and only the national side changes. Wikipedia says they’re struck at the Italian state mint in Rome. How the everyday coins work when you pay is in money in San Marino.

There are two series. For the first, the European Central Bank lists the Palazzo Pubblico on the €2, the coat of arms on the €1, the Three Towers on the 50 cent and the basilica on the 10 cent. In the current series, the €2 shows a portrait of Saint Marinus by Giovan Battista Urbinelli, the €1 the Second Tower and the 20 cent Mount Titano with its three towers. For me the 20 cent is the best summary of the country ever squeezed onto a coin.

Beyond circulation coins, San Marino can issue euro collector coins. The gold ones in scudi, the agreement says, aren’t legal tender in the EU. That’s a different league, the world of collector pieces.

A coinage without a mint

What I like most about San Marino’s coin history is that it never had a mint of its own. According to Poste San Marino, the idea of striking coins on its own soil was debated several times and always dropped. The first coin, a 5-cent copper piece with the arms of the Republic, was made in 1864 at the Royal Mint in Milan. Silver followed in 1898. An agreement in 1939 barred it from minting anything but gold, and it didn’t strike everyday coins again until 1972, after the 1971 agreement. Gold returned in 1974 and the euro on 1 January 2002.

Which San Marino stamps do collectors want?

The postal story starts before the stamps. Poste San Marino traces its origins to a Council decision of 7 October 1607, which made Giulio Franchini the postman who walked the letters to and from Rimini, and calls it the world’s first postal service designed for everyone. That’s the company’s own claim.

For years San Marino used other states’ stamps, first papal and Sardinian, then Italian, cancelled with its own postmark. According to Poste, those forerunners, the precursori, now command a notable price. Its own stamps finally arrived on 1 August 1877, printed in Turin in values of 2, 10, 20, 30 and 40 cents. The full series, with additions up to 1899, runs to 28 values, and the one everybody wants is the 1 lira, red on yellow, the lira rossa. If you wonder why such a small state cared so much about its post, it fits everything in the history of San Marino.

Where to see them, the museum on Piazza Garibaldi

The Stamp and Coin Museum fills 700 m² over two floors in the former philatelic and numismatic office on Piazza Garibaldi, and traces stamps and coins from the second half of the 19th century. It’s included in the €11 State Museums pass, and from 27 September 2026 it opens from 09:00 to 16:50. For older pieces, the State Museum has a floor given over to Sammarinese coinage. The pass and the other venues are in San Marino’s museums.

Where to buy

Since 2022 the old philatelic and numismatic office has been part of Poste San Marino, as its philatelic and numismatic division. It issues and sells stamps and coins, runs an online shop and is based on Strada Borrana in Serravalle. In 2026 Poste San Marino advertises its stamp and coin shop at Piazzetta Garibaldi 5, right in the old town, though it doesn’t publish regular hours. If you’re after a postcard with a Sammarinese stamp, head to the San Marino post office guide. A private website also mentions authorised dealers.

My advice is simple. An ordinary euro with a Sammarinese face is worth one euro, and if you get one in your change, keep it. Paying a premium at a souvenir stall without knowing the year or the mintage isn’t something I’d do. And if what you want is a postal souvenir, a postcard with a San Marino stamp sent from the Città’s post office beats most trinkets, as I explain in the San Marino passport stamp.