GALLERY OF VATICAN COINS

 

Saint Peter's Basilica, The Vatican

 

(Click on the thumbnails below to view a larger photograph)

 

POPE PIUS XI

1922-1939

Papal Pius XI 1934 Obv.jpg (342116 bytes) 5 LIRE Papal Pius XI 1934 Rev.jpg (354166 bytes)
1934 BU BERMAN - 3355

 

 

SEDE VACANTE

1939

Papal Sede Vacante 1939 Obv.jpg (365567 bytes) 5 LIRE Papal Sede Vacante 1939 Rev.jpg (331294 bytes)
10 February 1939 - 02 March 1939 BU BERMAN - 3372

 

 

POPE PIUS XII

1939-1958

Papal Pius XII Obv.jpg (54304 bytes) 5 LIRE Papal Pius XII Rev.jpg (53198 bytes)
1939 BU BERMAN - 3375

 

 

SEDE VACANTE

1958

Papal Sede Vacante 1958 Obv.jpg (469849 bytes) 500 LIRE Papal Sede Vacante 1958 Rev.jpg (460596 bytes)
09 October 1958 - 28 October 1958 BU BERMAN - 3414

 

 

POPE JOHN XXIII

1958-1963

 

Papal John XXIII 1962 Obv.jpg (211138 bytes) 500 LIRE Papal John XXIII 1962 Rev.jpg (240802 bytes)
1962 BU BERMAN - 3424

 

 

SEDE VACANTE

1963

Papal Sede Vacante 1963 Obv.jpg (487211 bytes) 500 LIRE Papal Sede Vacante 1963 Rev.jpg (479453 bytes)
03 June 1963 - 21 June 1963 BU BERMAN - 3432

 

 

POPE PAUL VI

1963-1978

Papal Paul VI 1963 Obv.jpg (332552 bytes) 500 LIRE Papal Paul VI 1963 Rev.jpg (337611 bytes)
1963 BU BERMAN - 3433

 

Papal Paul VI 1968 Obv.jpg (432020 bytes) 500 LIRE Papal Paul VI 1968 Rev.jpg (474500 bytes)
1968 BU BERMAN - 3457

 

 

SEDE VACANTE

1978

Papal Sede Vacante 1978 Obv.jpg (377126 bytes) 500 LIRE Papal Sede Vacante 1978 Rev.jpg (374545 bytes)
06 August 1978 - 26 August 1978 BU BERMAN - 3498

 

 

POPE JOHN PAUL I

1978

John Paul I Obv.jpg (326579 bytes) 1000 LIRE John Paul I Rev.jpg (338010 bytes)
26 August 1978 - 28 September 1978 BU BERMAN - 3499

 

 

SEDE VACANTE

1978 (September)

Papal Sede Vacante 1978-S Obv.jpg (367901 bytes) 500 LIRE Papal Sede Vacante 1978-S Rev.jpg (369134 bytes)
28 September 1978 - 16 October 1978 BU BERMAN - 3500

 

 

POPE JOHN PAUL II

1978-2005

Papal John Paul II 1980 Obv.jpg (471715 bytes) 500 LIRE Papal John Paul II 1980 Rev.jpg (475180 bytes)
1980 BU BERMAN - 3501

 

 

 

 

 

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION:

.

 

PIUS XI      1922-1939

Born - 31 May 1857

Name - Achille Ratti

Place - Desio, Italy

Died - 10 Feb. 1939

Buried - St. Peter's Grottoes

 

 

 

PIUS XII      1939-1958

Born - 02 March 1876

Name - Eugenio Paceelli

Place - Rome, Italy

Died - 09 October 1958

Buried - St. Peter's Grottoes

 

 

 

 

JOHN XXIII      1958-1963

Born - 25 Nov. 1881

Name - Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli

Place - Bergamo, Italy

Died - 03 June 1963

Buried - St. Peter's Grottoes, body moved to Saint Jerome's Altar on the main level of Saint Peter's in 2001.  His empty sarcophagus remains in Saint Peter's Grottoes.

 

 

 

 

PAUL VI      1963-1978

Born - 27 Sept. 1897

Name - Giovanni Battista Montini

Place - Brescia, Italy

Died - 06 August 1978

Buried - St. Peter's Grottoes

 

 

 

 

JOHN PAUL I      1978

Born - 12 October 1912

Name - Albino Luciani

Place - Belluno, Italy

Died - 28 Sept. 1978

Buried - St. Peter's Grottoes

 

 

 

 

JOHN PAUL II     1978-2005

Born - 18 May 1920

Name - Karol Wojtyla

Place - Wadowice, Poland

Died - 02 April 2005

Buried - St. Peter's Grottoes

 

 

 

BENEDICT XVI      2005-

Born - 16 April 1927

Name - Joseph Ratzinger

Place - Marktl, Germany

 

ABOUT THIS PAGE:

This collection covers only the coins issued by Vatican City from 1929 until the present, coins issued by the Papal States before 1870 are not included.  All coins are silver unless otherwise noted and  all of the coins shown on this page are from my personal collection and are not for sale. This set is a work in progress and updates will be made as coins are added, upgraded or sent off for certification to third party grading services. Grading services used are PCGS, NGC and ANACS. In cases where no grading service is listed the stated grade is my personal opinion based on my 25 years of experience as a numismatist. References to BERMAN refer to "Papal Coins - A Complete Catalog of the Coins of the Popes from the Middle Ages to the Present" 1st edition  published by Attic Books Ltd.

BIBLIOGRAPHY OF REFERENCES USED IN THE CREATION OF THIS PAGE:

 "STANDARD CATALOG OF WORLD COINS" - Krause Publications

"PAPAL COINS" - Allen G. Berman

"LIVES OF THE POPES" - Richard P McBrien

"VICARS OF CHRIST - A HISTORY OF THE POPES" - Charles A. Coulombe

"THE CONCLAVE" - Michael Walsh