Vatican Coins

Vatican City is the smallest independent state in the world and it is not a member of the European Union. Despite its small size, Vatican is an independent state with its own system and organs of governance and therefore it is responsible for all the requirements of a Sovereign state. Vatican City sells its own coins and stamps. like many other macro states of Europe the sale of the stamps and coins is one of the major sources of the Vatican’s revenue. Since the year 2002, the Vatican coins have had euro denominations.

The Vatican's coins are issued in very small quantities and this brought them to people’s and collector's attention. Vatican coins are among the most attractive items for sale together with Vatican postcards, official Vatican medals, medallions, etc. The Coins are especially attractive to religious people of the Catholic faith. Most of the coins bear the images of Popes and since the Pope is the utmost important religious leader for Catholics.These items are loved and admired by many people. The initial series of Vatican euro coins featured an image of Pope John Paul II. The coins were issued only in collector sets and they cost over a thousand euro. Despite their high values, the performance of the Vatican coins in terms of sales has remained impressive and many people are trying to get hold of them.However, the production of these coins is limited and therefore the supply is also limited. Because of the high demand, many people from all over the world have been proposing that the Vatican will make it possible for the coins to be ordered and supplied online, something that has not been implemented due to various reasons.

As a result of the death of Pope John Paul II in April 2005, the Vatican issued the second series of the special coins throughout the period of Sede vacante (empty seat) portraying the symbol of the apostolic Chamber and the coat of arms of the Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church. The third series of the Vatican coins were issued on 27th April 2006 and featured the figure of Pope Benedict XVI. This was after the election of the Pope which resulted in Pope Benedict XIV being elected as the new Pope. The coins contained an inscription “Citta del Vaticano” and the twelve stars of Europe.

With the new Pope having been elected, Pope Francis I, maybe we should expect new Vatican coins soon. Many coins, including euro coins have depreciated in value over the past years. However, this is not true about the Vatican coins. The case is quite the opposite regarding these coins. Although their value is not as high as it was some years ago, the Vatican coins have continued to sell incredibly well overall. The earlier series of the Vatican coins hold greater value compared to other world coins and people are always ready to pay more to have them. The Vatican coins sales have always been impressive, an indication that indeed the coins are a valuable commodity.