Zecca

Zecca is an Italian noun meaning "mint" and is used to refer to a place where coins are produced as well as to the authority or institution responsible for coin production. Historically, the term is strongly associated with the coinage system of the Italian city-states and broader European economies, where dedicated facilities manufactured currency and stamps.

In the Republic of Venice, La Zecca di Venezia (the Venice Mint) was the principal mint, producing coins such as the ducat and other denominations for centuries. The zecca thus functioned as both an industrial and financial institution central to trade and government revenue. Similar mints operated in other Italian states, and the term became embedded in coin- and security-related vocabulary.

In contemporary Italy, the word survives in the official name of the state coinage and security printing authority: Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato (IPZS). The IPZS, affiliated with the Ministry of Economy and Finance, administers the production of Italian euro coins, banknotes, passports, seals, and other official documents. The term "zecca" in this context denotes the minting function within a broader polygraphy and security printing operation.

Beyond institutions, zecca is used in Italian as a general reference to mints and occasionally appears in surnames and place-names. The word thus spans historical, economic, and modern institutional contexts, reflecting the enduring association between currency production and state authority.