Vatican euro coins

Vatican euro coins are issued by the Philatelic and Numismatic Office of the Vatican City State and minted by Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato (IPZS), in Rome, Italy. The euro is the official currency of the Vatican City, although Vatican City is not a member of the Eurozone or the European Union.

Eurozone participation
European Union (EU) member states
  19 in the eurozone.
  2 in ERM II, without opt-outs (Bulgaria and Croatia).
  1 in ERM II, with an opt-out (Denmark).
  5 not in ERM II, but obliged to join the eurozone on meeting convergence criteria (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Sweden).
Non-EU member states
  4 using the euro with a monetary agreement (Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, and Vatican City).
  2 using the euro unilaterally (Kosovo[lower-alpha 1] and Montenegro).

Vatican euro design

For images of the common side and a detailed description of the coins, see euro coins.

First series (2002–2005)

The initial series of Vatican euro coins featured an effigy of Pope John Paul II. They were issued only in collector sets and bore an extreme markup with the 2002 collector set costing well over a thousand euro.[1]

Depiction of Vatican euro coinage (2002–2005) | Obverse side
€ 0.01 € 0.02 € 0.05
Effigy of John Paul II.
€ 0.10 € 0.20 € 0.50
Effigy of John Paul II.
€ 1.00 € 2.00 € 2 Coin Edge
for a total of 12 stars
Effigy of John Paul II.

Second series (2005)

Following the death of Pope John Paul II in April 2005, Vatican City issued special coins during the period of Sede vacante depicting the emblem of the Apostolic Chamber (i.e. two crossed keys beneath an umbraculum, or umbrella) and the coat of arms of the Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church, at the time Cardinal Eduardo Martínez Somalo.[2]

Depiction of Vatican euro coinage (2005) | Obverse side
€ 0.01 € 0.02 € 0.05
Insignia of the Apostolic Chamber and the coat of arms of the Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church
€ 0.10 € 0.20 € 0.50
Insignia of the Apostolic Chamber and the coat of arms of the Cardinal Chamberlain
€ 1.00 € 2.00 € 2 Coin Edge
for a total of 12 stars
Insignia of the Apostolic Chamber and the coat of arms of the Cardinal Chamberlain

Third series (2006–2013)

When the new pope was elected, the third series of Vatican euro coins were issued on 27 April 2006 and feature the effigy of Pope Benedict XVI. The coins carry an inscription "Città del Vaticano" and the twelve stars of Europe. The details of this design are published in the Official Journal of the European Union.[3]

Depiction of Vatican euro coinage (2006-2014) | Obverse side
€ 0.01 € 0.02 € 0.05
Effigy of Benedict XVI.
€ 0.10 € 0.20 € 0.50
Effigy of Benedict XVI.
€ 1.00 € 2.00 € 2 Coin Edge
for a total of 12 stars
Effigy of Benedict XVI.

Fourth series (2014–2016)

A series of Vatican euro coins featuring effigies of Pope Francis was released in March 2014.[4] Three different images of Francis were used.[5]

Depiction of Vatican euro coinage (2014–2016) | Obverse side
€ 0.01 € 0.02 € 0.05
Effigy of Francis (left profile).
€ 0.10 € 0.20 € 0.50
Effigy of Francis (front profile).
€ 1.00 € 2.00 € 2 Coin Edge
for a total of 12 stars
Effigy of Francis (right profile).

Fifth series (2017–present)

A series of Vatican euro coins featuring the coat of arms of Pope Francis was issued from 2017 onwards.[6] Starting March 2017, the eight denominations of Vatican euro coins no longer bore the Pope's image and now feature the papal coat of arms of Pope Francis.[6]

Depiction of Vatican euro coinage (since 2017) | Obverse side
€ 0.01 € 0.02 € 0.05
Coat of arms of Pope Francis and European Union stars
€ 0.10 € 0.20 € 0.50
Coat of arms of Pope Francis and European Union stars
€ 1.00 € 2.00 € 2 Coin Edge
for a total of 12 stars
Coat of arms of Pope Francis and European Union stars

Circulating Mintage quantities
Face Value [7] €0.01 €0.02 €0.05 €0.10 €0.20 €0.50 €1.00 €2.00 €2.00CC
2002 2,000 2,000 2,000 2,000 2,000 2,000 2,000 2,000 **
2003 * * * * * * * * **
2004 * * * * * * * * *
2005 * * * * * * * * *
2005 SV * * * * * * * * N/A
2006 * * * * * * * * *
2007 * * * * * * * * *
2008 6,400 6,400 6,400 6,400 6,400 6,400 6,400 6,400 6,084
2009 6,400 6,400 6,400 6,400 6,400 6,400 6,400 6,400 6,084
2010 * * * * * 2,190,704 * * *
2011 * * * * * 2,174,197 * * 9,000
2012 * * * * * 1,604,690 * * 6,000
2013 * * * * * 1,941,484 * * 20,000
2014 * * * * * 1,488,376 * * *
2015 * * * * * 2,021,682 * * *
2016 * * * * * 2,207,676 * * *
2017 * * * * * 2,132,411 * * *
2018 * * * * * 2,147,169 * * *
2019 * * * * * 2,157,248 * * *

* Small quantities minted for sets only

**Coin not minted

CC Commemorative coins

Future changes to national sides

The Commission of the European Communities issued a recommendation on 19 December 2008, a common guideline for the national sides and the issuance of euro coins intended for circulation. One section of this recommendation stipulates that:

Article 5. Changes to the national sides of regular euro coins intended for circulation:
"... the designs used for the national sides of the euro coins intended for circulation denominated in euro or in cent should not be modified, except in cases where the Head of State referred to on a coin changes ... A temporary vacancy or the provisional occupation of the function of Head of State should not give the right to change the national sides of the regular euro coins intended for circulation."

This change means that there will be no more "Sede Vacante" series of the regular Vatican euro coins, although the issue of commemorative "Sede Vacante" series (usually gold and silver coins), having legal tender in Vatican City only, remains possible. Circulating €2 commemorative Sede Vacante coins would also be possible, if the Sede Vacante period occurs in a year in which Vatican City has not already released two €2 commemorative coins of another subject. Such a coin was indeed minted for the Sede Vacante of 2013.

€2 commemorative coins
Main article: €2 commemorative coins

In addition, in 2014 the Vatican issued commemorative €20 and €50 coins honoring Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II respectively.[5] Both popes were canonized in April 2014.[8]

See also

Notes
  1. Kosovo is the subject of a territorial dispute between the Republic of Kosovo and the Republic of Serbia. The Republic of Kosovo unilaterally declared independence on 17 February 2008. Serbia continues to claim it as part of its own sovereign territory. The two governments began to normalise relations in 2013, as part of the 2013 Brussels Agreement. Kosovo is currently recognized as an independent state by 98 out of the 193 United Nations member states. In total, 113 UN member states recognized Kosovo at some point, of which 15 later withdrew their recognition.

References
  1. Vatican Euro Coins
  2. The description of the new national side can be found in the Official Journal of the European Union C308/17 (6/12/05) (PDF)
  3. Official Journal of the European Union: New National Faces Of Euro Coins Intended For Circulation - Vatican City, C 186/2, Retrieved on 2006-11-29
  4. "Vatican Issues Euro Coins Featuring Pope Francis". KMBZ, 4 March 2014. (accessed 10 March 2014)
  5. PONTIFICATE OF POPE FRANCIS - EURO COINS PROOF VERSION - YEAR 2014. Vatican City State. (accessed 10 March 2014)
  6. http://www.coinworld.com/news/world-coins/2017/02/vatican-city-adopts-new-euro-coins-in-2017.all.html
  7. "Circulating Mintage quantities". Henning Agt. Archived from the original on 27 February 2018. Retrieved 2008-08-19.
  8. "Popes John Paul II, John XXIII to be declared saints in April", World News, Fox, Sep 30, 2013.


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