COLLECTING VATICAN COINS

The Vatican issues at least two two-euro commemoratives per year in Brilliant Uncirculated and since 2015 also in Proof along with annual mint and Proof sets (the latter with two versions — one with a 20-euro silver coin and the other a 50-euro gold coin) and several silver and gold commemorative issues each year, and starting in 2018 a second version of the mint set that includes a five-euro bimetal coin. Prior to 2012, the annual Proof sets included silver and gold medals rather than coins.

Vatican euro coins are classified under which papacy they were issued, and an image of the current pope normally appears on the obverse of every coin. These include 2002-2004 Pope John Paul II; 2006-2013 Pope Benedict XVI; and, since 2014, Pope Francis. However, since March 2017, the obverses have featured the coat of arms of the Vatican sovereign since Pope Francis made it known that year that he no longer wanted his likeness to appear on coins. The reverse of all Vatican euro coins features the common design used on all euro coins with the denomination and a map of Europe.

Vatican coins typically feature themes that reflect issues the pope of the time stressed, such as in his encyclicals and often depict saints, Jesus, or the Virgin Mary and biblical scenes, or highlight an important work of art from the Vatican collection or pay tribute to a legendary cultural figure. For example, this year, the Vatican issued a five-euro bimetal coin for the 250th anniversary of the birth of German pianist and composer Beethoven in 1770.

Recently, the Vatican issued its first coin sold at its face value — a 10-euro copper piece depicting the legendary Pieta statue created by Michelangelo that resides in St. Peter's basilica and was designed by Italian medallic artist and sculptor Chiara Principe, who has designed many coins for the Vatican and recently discussed her work on this and other coins with me. 43,000 of these coins were issued, and a Proof version limited to 4,500 is coming in October.

The most well-known U.S. dealer in these coins (who sells a wide range of coins, stamps, medals, and books) is Peter Jencius of Jencius coins in New York City, who took over the business after his father Edward passed away. Peter is also one of the leading experts on classic and modern Vatican issues and self-published an important reference work on the first 50 years of Vatican City coins issued from 1929 to 1978, called Vatican City Coins 1929-1958, late last year. The book is written in English with a side-by-side translation in Italian, since so many Vatican coin collectors are in Italy. Only 500 copies were published, and the book is available here.

The volume explains Vatican monetary conventions, investigates data about when annual issues were actually made, and consider how coins were packaged for collectors. By examining Vatican ordinances, the book corrects some historically printed mintages, provides meticulous descriptions, current valuations from the perspective of someone who knows the real market very well, and features enlarged color photographs of the coins. In addition, it is the first book of its kind that also classifies and illustrates over 25 different Vatican coin cases and coin cards (the latter being a popular way to package euro coins from various countries that is used today for the Brilliant Uncirculated version of Vatican two-euro pieces).

To read the complete article, see:
Collecting Vatican coins (http://news.coinupdate.com/collecting-vatican-coins/)

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
NEW BOOK: VATICAN CITY COINS: 1929-1978 (https://www.coinbooks.org/v23/esylum_v23n04a03.html)

	NBS (coinbooks.org) Web