Vatican City 1963 500 lire
In 1860, the king of Sardinia succeeded in unifying the Italian peninsula after centuries of fragmentation. The Papal States, protected by a French army, were not incorporated until 1870. The pope, denouncing the occupation of his domain, withdrew into the Vatican palace as a self-declared prisoner. Normal relations with the Italian government were not restored until Mussolini signed a concordat in 1929, granting the Pope sovereignty over Vatican City. Coinage began that year, struck at the Rome mint. Coins are issued for the Vatican City in symbolic amounts but as they are eagerly saved as souvenirs by tourists, they are not in short supply for collectors. This type, struck 1963 after the death of John XXIII, is common. The lira was retired in 1999 when Italy joined the euro.
Recorded mintage: 200,000.
Specification: silver, 0.835 fine, 29.3 mm diameter.
Catalog reference: KM 75, Ber-3432.
- Berman, Allen G., Papal Coins, South Salem, NY: Attic Books, 1991.
- Gigante, Fabio, Gigante 2016: Catalogo Nazionale delle Monete Italiano Dal '700 All'Euro, 24a ed. Varese, Italy, 2015.
- Montenegro, Eupremio, Montenegro 2015: Manuale del Collezionista di Monete Italiane, 30 ed., Torino, Italy: Montenegro s.a.s., 2014.
- Michael, Thomas, and Tracy L. Schmidt, Standard Catalog of World Coins, 1901-2000, 47th ed., Iola, WI: Krause Publications, 2019.
Link to:
- Vatican City 1959 500 lire
- 1962 10 lire
- 1967 500 lire
- Coins and currency dated 1963
- return to coins of the Vatican