The Department of the Economy issues all the measures relating to the manufacture and issue of ordinary circulation coins and numismatic coins, whose coinage is entrusted to the Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato S.p.A.

The Mint, until April 1978, was part of the General Directorate of the Treasury (now Department of the Treasury); Law no, n. 154 established the Mint section within the Istituto Poligrafico. Under Legislative Decree No. 116 of 21 April 1996, the Institute was converted into a joint-stock company.
Each year, the Ministry prepares, in agreement with the Bank of Italy, a programme of issues of ordinary coins to meet the needs of the national currency circulation.
The current coin grading scale consists of the following coins: € 0,01; € 0,02; € 0,05; € 0,10; € 0,20; € 0,50; € 1 and € 2.