The Governorate of Vatican City State and IPZS together for the Christmas 2025 coin
The traditional Vatican issue, in the Jubilee year, entrusted for the first time to a young artist from the School of Medallic Art of the Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato [Italian State Mint]
Rome, 23 December 2025 – Today the Governorate of Vatican City State presents the traditional Holy Christmas 2025 collector coin, issued in the Jubilee Year, the result of collaboration between the Governorate, the Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato (IPZS), and the Italian State Mint’s School of Medallic Art.
The €25 silver issue bears witness to a significant example of cooperation between institutions and the Governorate of Vatican City State willingness to invest in the promotion of young people and new talents, by entrusting— for the first time—the design of the Christmas coin to an institution of higher artistic education.
Indeed, the Governorate of Vatican City State chose to involve the IPZS School of Medallic Art, which since 1907 has trained new generations of engravers and master craftsmen, recognizing the value of technical expertise and supporting excellence in both tradition and innovation.
The €25 silver collector coin, rectangular in shape and featuring colored elements, is inspired by one of the masterpieces housed in the Vatican Museums’ Gallery of Tapestries: The Adoration of the Shepherds, part of the tapestry cycle dedicated to the Life of Jesus, created between 1524 and 1531.
The chosen work takes on particular symbolic significance at the conclusion of this Jubilee Year: The Adoration of the Shepherds was in fact exceptionally displayed in 2024 in St. Peter’s Basilica on the occasion of the Christmas Mass and the rite of the opening of the Holy Door, accompanying the beginning of the Holy Year.
The coin project was developed from a competition of ideas and sketches promoted by the Governorate of Vatican City State, which sought to involve the most outstanding scholarship students of the IPZS School of Medallic Art, offering young artists the opportunity to engage with a project of high institutional and creative profile.
Among the proposals submitted, the design by Giada Reale, a 25-year-old young artist of the IPZS School, was selected. She completed five years of training there, three as a student of the ordinary course and two as a scholarship holder.
On the obverse of the coin, the coat of arms of Pope Leo XIV is depicted with the motto “In Illo Uno Unum.” On the left, a series of eight-pointed stars recalls the comet that guides and illuminates, a symbol of birth and divine Revelation. On the right, a geometric composition forms a cross, an element of the Christian faith and a sign of blessing and protection. On the reverse, a color reproduction of the Nativity is depicted, taken from the tapestry of The Adoration of the Shepherds. On either side of the composition, rendered in silver, appear an angel (on the left) and three shepherds adoring the Infant Jesus (on the right), also inspired by the Flemish tapestry.
After approval of the design—developed using both traditional techniques and digital tools—the project followed the entire artisanal production process: from low-relief wax modeling to the creation of plaster casts, through to the final stages of minting and pad printing at IPZS facilities.
The Holy Christmas 2025 coin thus stands not only as an object of high artistic and collectible value, but also as a concrete expression of institutional collaboration, capable of supporting education, promoting young talent, and renewing— in continuity—the great Vatican numismatic and artistic tradition.
The President of IPZS, Paolo Perrone, stated: “I thank the President of the Governorate and the institution she represents for this renewed and fruitful collaboration. This issue confirms the path of excellence that our school has been able to renew in keeping with its centuries-old tradition and represents a message of hope in the future for committed and talented young people.”
