Inspiration, study, technique and experience

For the first time in the history of the Vatican City State’s numismatic issues, the artistic and creative process behind a coin was carried out entirely on a computer, without using pencils, paper, or sculpting materials, but only the stylus of a graphic tablet. Through this innovative technical approach, the 2024 50-euro gold coin themed “War and Peace” was created. This coin won the Best Gold Coin category of the prestigious international Coin of the Year (COTY) 2025 awards. Achieving this important recognition was the result of a team effort, as explained in this interview by Chiara Principe with www.vaticanstate.va, the designer who has been collaborating with the Vatican City State Mint for thirteen years in coin design.

The Vatican Mint proudly celebrates an important international recognition: the 50-euro gold coin “War and Peace,” minted in 2024, has won the Best Gold Coin award at the 2025 COTY (Coin of the Year) Awards, announced on August 21 during the World’s Fair of Money in Oklahoma City, USA.

This success honours not only technical and artistic excellence, but also the strength of the universal message conveyed by the coin: the contrast between war and peace, rendered with great sensitivity by artist Chiara Principe, who has been collaborating with the Vatican since 2013 in the creation of coins and stamps on a wide variety of themes, always with outstanding results.