Presentation of New Numismatic Issues
The Governatorate of the State of Vatican City presents a new series of commemorative numismatic issues that span a time initiating with a tribute to the great masters who shaped the artistic face of the Vatican to the recently celebrated Jubilee Year of Hope.
The itinerary opens with the 2-euro Brilliant Uncirculated (BU) commemorative coin dedicated to the 550th anniversary of the birth of Michelangelo Buonarroti. The depiction of the Dome of St. Peter’s Basilica—an architectural emblem of Christianity and the pinnacle of Michelangelo’s complex genius—seals its supreme symbolic and spiritual value.
The journey continues with the 2-euro BU coin for the Holy Year MMXXV, recalling the central event of 2025: the opening of the Holy Door of the Vatican Basilica by Pope Francis on Christmas Eve night. The image of the late Pontiff in the solemn act of opening the Holy Door takes on profound symbolic significance, commemorating the beginning of the Jubilee and renewing the universal call to conversion, hope and reconciliation.
Along the same lines are the Coin Cards and the Stamp&Coin Cards dedicated to the Jubilee of 2025—three new collections conceived to accompany the faithful and the collector on an ideal itinerary through faith, art, and history, across the most sacred places of Christianity.
The Jubilee message of mercy finds further expression in the 20-euro copper BU coin “Art and Faith: The Good Shepherd”. The reverse presents the Gospel image of the Shepherd carrying the lost sheep upon his shoulders, a vivid and powerful representation of the love with which Christ cares for humanity. On the obverse, the papal coat of arms is set within a composition recalling the structure of the Holy Door, establishing a refined iconographic reference to the Holy Year and the spiritual meaning of pilgrimage.
The journey concludes with the 25-euro colored silver coin dedicated to the Sede Vacante MMXXV, the last of three issues devoted to this theme. The iconography, inspired by “The Descent of the Holy Spirit” by Guido Reni, places at its center the dove of the Holy Spirit, surrounded by a choir of angels, as a sign of divine guidance in a time of anticipation. On the obverse stands the coat of arms of the Cardinal Camerlengo, entrusted with the administration of the Apostolic See during the Sede Vacante, as a sign of institutional continuity and faithful ecclesial service.
