1996 AD., Italy, Republic, 70th anniversary Istituto Nazionale di Statistica commemorative, Rome mint, 500 Lire, KM 181.

Italy, Republic, 70th anniversary Istituto Nazionale di Statistica commemorative, designers: Laura Cretara (obverse) and Claudia Momoni (reverse), Rome mint, no date (struck 1996 AD.),
500 Lire (ø 25,8 mm / 6,76 g), bimetallic: bronze alloy (bronzital) center in stainless steel (acmonital) ring, 6,80 g. theor. mint weight, mintage 96.755.000 , axes coin alignment ↑↓ (180°), plain and reeded edge,
Obv.: REPUBBLICA ITALIANA * / CRETARA , female winged head facing left (Mercury ?), designer´s name below truncation.
Rev.: ·ISTITUTO NAZIONALE DI STATISTICA· // 1926 - 1996 / 70 ISTAT / R - C MOMONI// L. 500 , Institute building, dates mint mark "R" and designer´s name within inner flan, legend and value on steel ring.
KM 181 .

Year / Mint Mark / Mintage
no date (1996) / R / 96.755.000
no date (1996) / R / 8.000 (proof issue)

Istituto Nazionale di Statistica (Istat) is the Italian National Statistical Institute. Its activities include the census of population, economic censuses and a number of social, economic and environmental surveys and analyses. Istat is by far the largest producer of Statistical information in Italy, and is an active member of the European Statistical System, coordinated by Eurostat. Istat was created in 1926 as "Central Institute of Statistics" (Istituto Centrale di Statistica), to collect and organize essential data about the nation. It took its current denomination with the reform of 1989. This also gave Istat statutory responsibility for the coordination and standardization of official statistics collected or published under the aegis of the national statistical system SISTAN, whose membership includes the statistical offices of ministries, national agencies, regions, provinces, communes, chambers of commerce, and similar bodies.