Vatican City 1930 20 centesimi

from the Mountain Groan Collection

from the Stack's Bowers 2024 ANA sale, part of lot 42450

In 1860, the king of Sardinia succeeded 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 1929-37 for Pius XI, is common. The lira was retired in 1999 when Italy joined the euro. The second specimen was part of lot 42450 in Stack's Bowers ANA sale (Chicago, August 2024), where it did not sell. The catalog description^[1] noted,

"Exceptionally Rare Post-Lateran Specimen Set, ITALY. Papal (Vatican City). Specimen Set (8 Pieces), 1930 Year IX. Rome Mint. Pius XI. All PCGS Certified. ...6) 20 Centesimi. PCGS SPECIMEN-67. ...INCREDIBLY RARE in specimen quality and as a complete set, this wondrous array of glistening Gems provides immense ocular satisfaction and emanates from the first year following the Lateran Treaty and the settling of the longstanding 'Roman question.'"

Recorded mintage: 80,000.

Specification: nickel, designed by Aurelio Mistruzzi.

Catalog reference: KM Y3, Ber-3359.

Source:

• 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.
• ^[1]Orsini, Matt, Kyle Ponterio and Jeremy Bostwick, August 2024 Global Showcase Auction, World & Ancient Coins, featuring The Emilio M. Ortiz Collection, The Richard Margolis Collection and The Rutherford Collection, Costa Mesa, CA: Stack's Bowers Galleries, Inc., 2024.

Link to:

• Vatican City 1929 20 centesimi
• 1930 5 centesimi
• 1930 10 centesimi
• 1930 50 centesimi
• 1930 lira
• 1930 2 lire
• 1930 5 lire
• 1930 10 lire
• 1930 100 lire
• 1940 20 centesimi
• Coins and currency dated 1930
• return to coins of the Vatican