Vatican lira

Vatican lira
Vatican lira
lira vaticana (in Italian)
	500 lire
ISO 4217
Code	VAL
Denominations
Subunit
1/100	centesimo; Subunits were abolished after WWII
Plural	lire
centesimo	centesimi
Symbol	₤, £ or L
Coins
Freq. used	50, 100, 200, 500, 1000 lire
Rarely used	5, 10, 20 centesimi 10, 20, 10,000, 50,000, 100,000 lire
Demographics
User(s)	None, previously:; Vatican City; Italy; San Marino
Valuation
ERM
Since	13 March 1979, 25 November 1996 1
Withdrawn	16 September 1992 (Black Wednesday)
Fixed rate since	31 December 1998
Replaced by €, non cash	1 January 1999
Replaced by €, cash	1 January 2002
€ =	1936.27 lire
	This infobox shows the latest status before this currency was rendered obsolete. 1 Indirectly (1:1 peg to ITL)

The Vatican lira (plural lire) was the currency of the Vatican City between 1929 and 2002.

History[]

The Papal States, by the late 1860s, was reduced to a small area close to Rome, used its own lira between 1866 and 1870 as a member of the Latin Monetary Union. Upon the conclusion of the Risorgimento, the state, and its currency, ceased to exist. In 1929, the Lateran Treaty established the State of the Vatican City and, according with the terms of the treaty, a distinct coinage was introduced, denominated in centesimi and lire, on par with the Italian lira. Italian coins and banknotes were legal tender in the Vatican City. The Vatican coins were minted in Rome and were also legal tender in Italy and San Marino.

In 2002, the Vatican City switched to the euro at an exchange rate of 1 euro = 1936.27 lira. It has its own set of euro coins.

Coins[]

The development of Vatican coins largely mirrored the development of the Italian lire coins.

In 1929, copper 5 and 10 centesimi, nickel 20 and 50 centesimi, 1 and 2 lire, silver 5 and 10 lire, and gold 100 lire coins were introduced. In 1936, the gold content of 100 lire coins was decreased from 0.2546 to 0.1502 troy ounces.^[1] In 1939, aluminium bronze replaced copper and, in 1940, stainless steel replaced nickel. Between 1941 and 1943, production of the various denominations was reduced to only a few thousand per year.

In 1947, a new coinage was introduced consisting of aluminium 1, 2, 5 and 10 lire. The sizes of these coins were reduced in 1951. In 1955, stainless steel 50 and 100 lire were introduced, followed by aluminium bronze 20 lire in 1957 and silver 500 lire in 1958. The 1 and 2 lire ceased production in 1977, followed by the 5 lire in 1978. Aluminium-bronze 200 lire were introduced in 1978, followed by bi-metallic 500 and 1000 lire in 1985 and 1997, respectively. The 50 and 100 lire were reduced in size in 1992.

Beginning in 1967, the Vatican began issuing coins using Roman numerals for the year of issue, as opposed to the more common Arabic numerals.

Vatican lire coins were discontinued with the advent of the euro.

Vatican City has frequently issued its coins in yearly changing commemorative series, featuring a wide variety of themes. While most of these were sold in the form of uncirculated mint sets, a portion of Vatican coins were released into general circulation.

Circulating coins from Pius XI to Pius XII papacies (1929-1958)[]

Image		Value	Technical Parameters			Description
Obverse	Reverse	Value	Diameter	Mass	Composition	Obverse	Reverse	Years of Issue	Papacy
		5 Centesimi	20mm	3.25 grams	95% Copper	Crowned Shield	Olive Branch	1929-1938	Pius XI
				2.95 grams	Bronzital	Crowned Shield	Olive Branch	1939-1941	Pius XII
				2.95 grams	Bronzital	Bust of Pius XII	Dove	1942-1946	Pius XII
		10 Centesimi	22mm	5.4 grams	95% Copper	Crowned Shield	Bust of St. Peter	1929-1938	Pius XI
				4.9 grams	Bronzital	Crowned Shield	Bust of St. Peter	1939-1941	Pius XII
				4.9 grams	Bronzital	Bust of Pius XII	Dove	1942-1946	Pius XII
		20 Centesimi	21mm	4.1 grams	Nickel	Crowned Arms	Bust of St. Paul	1929-1937	Pius XI
				4.1 grams	Nickel	Crowned Arms	Bust of St. Paul	1939-1941	Pius XII
				4 grams	Acmonital	Crowned Shield	Justice with law tabets	1942-1946	Pius XII
		50 Centesimi	24mm	6 grams	Nickel	Crowned Arms	Saint Michael	1929-1937	Pius XI
				6 grams	Nickel	Crowned Arms	Saint Michael	1939-1941	Pius XII
				6 grams	Stainless Steel	Crowned Shield	Justice with law tabets	1942-1946	Pius XII
		1 Lire	27mm	8.1 grams	Nickel	Crowned Arms	St. Mary standing atop globe	1929-1937	Pius XI
			26.65mm	7.86 grams	Acmonital	Crowned Arms	St. Mary standing atop globe	1940-1941	Pius XII
				7.86 grams	Acmonital		Justice with law tabets	1942-1946
				1.25 grams	Italma		Justice with law tabets	1947-1949
				1.25 grams			Holy Door	1950
			17mm	0.6200 grams			Temperance standing pouring libation in bowl	1951-1956
		2 Lire	29mm	10 grams	Nickel	Crowned Arms	Lamb on shepard's shoulders	1929-1937	Pius XI
				10 grams	Nickel	Crowned Arms	Lamb on shepard's shoulders	1939	Pius XII
				10.2 grams	Stainless Steel	Crowned Arms	Lamb on shepard's shoulders	1940-1941
				10.2 grams	Stainless Steel	Crowned Shield	Justice with law tabets	1942-1946
			24mm	1.75 grams	Aluminum	Crowned Shield	Justice with law tabets	1947-1949
			24mm	1.75 grams		Pius XII bust	Dove and St. Peter's Basilica Dome	1950
			18mm			Crowned Shield	Fortitude standing with lion at feet	1951-1958
		5 Lire	23mm	5 grams	0.8350 Silver	Bust of Pius XI	St. Peter in a boat	1929-1937	Pius XI
						Arms of Cardinal Eugenio	Dove within half sun	1939	Sede Vacante
						Bust of Pius XII	St. Peter in a boat	1939-1941	Pius XII
						Bust of Pius XII	Caritas figure with children	1942-1946
			26.5mm	2.5 grams	Aluminum	Bust of Pius XII	Caritas figure with children	1947-1949
			26.5mm	2.5 grams			Pope with staff within Holy Door	1950
			20mm	1 gram			Justice standing with sword and scales	1951-1958
		10 Lire	27mm	10 grams	0.8350 Silver	Bust of Pius XI	St. Mary holding infant	1929-1937	Pius XI
						Arms of Cardinal Eugenio	Dove within half sun	1939	Sede Vacante
						Bust of Pius XII	St. Mary holding infant	1939-1941	Pius XII
							Caritas figure with children	1942-1946
			29mm	3 grams	Aluminum		Caritas figure with children	1947-1949
							Pope with staff within Holy Door	1950
			23mm	1 gram			Prudence standing	1951-1958
		20 Lire	21.25mm	3.600 grams	Aluminum-Bronze		Caritas figure with children	1957
		20 Lire	21.25mm	5.600 grams	Aluminum-Bronze		Caritas figure with children	1958
		50 Lire	24.8mm	6.200 grams	Stainless Steel		Spes standing with large anchor	1955-1958
		100 Lire	23.5mm	8.8 grams	0.9000 Gold	Bust of Pius XI	Jesus with child at feet	1929-1935	Pius XI
			20.5mm	5.19 grams		Bust of Pius XI		1936-1938	Pius XI
						Bust of Pius XII		1939-1941	Pius XII
						Bust of Pius XII	Caritas figure with children	1942-1949
						Crowned Pius XII	Opening of Holy Door	1950
						Bust of Pius XII	Caritas figure with children	1951-1956
							Crowned Shield	1957-1958
			27.75mm	8.000 grams	Stainless Steel		Fides with large cross	1955-1958
		500 Lire	29mm	11.000 grams	0.8350 Silver		Crowned Shield	1958

References[]

^ Cuhaj, George S. (December 2009). 2010 Standard Catalog of World Coins (37 ed.). Krause Publications. p. 2181. ISBN 978-0896898141.

Krause, Chester L.; Clifford Mishler (1991). Standard Catalog of World Coins: 1801–1991 (18th ed.). Krause Publications. ISBN 0873411501.
Jencius, Peter (December 2019). Vatican City Coins: 1929-1978. Jencius Coins Krause Publications. ISBN 9781734277708.

This Vatican City–related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by .

[2010catalogue-1] Cuhaj, George S. (December 2009). 2010 Standard Catalog of World Coins (37 ed.). Krause Publications. p. 2181. ISBN 978-0896898141.

[1]

v t Currencies named pound or similar
Current	Pound sterling Alderney pound Falkland Islands pound Gibraltar pound Guernsey pound Jersey pound Manx pound Saint Helena pound Egyptian pound Lebanese pound South Sudanese pound Sudanese pound Syrian pound Turkish lira
Local alternative currency	Bristol pound Brixton pound Lewes pound Stroud pound Totnes pound
Defunct	AM-Lira Australian pound Bahamian pound Bermudian pound Biafran pound British West African pound Canadian pound Connecticut pound Cypriot pound Delaware pound Fijian pound French livre (Livre parisis • Livre tournois) French colonial livre (Guadeloupe livre • Haitian livre • New France livre • Saint Lucia livre) Gambian pound Georgia pound Ghanaian pound Irish pound Israeli pound Italian lira Jamaican pound Japanese government-issued Oceanian Pound Libyan pound Lombardo-Venetian pound Luccan pound Luxembourgish livre Malawian pound Maltese pound Maltese lira Maryland pound Massachusetts pound New Brunswick pound New Guinean pound New Hampshire pound New Jersey pound New York pound New Zealand pound Newfoundland pound Nigerian pound North Carolina pound Nova Scotian pound Oceanian pound Ottoman lira Palestine pound Papal lira Parman lira Pennsylvania pound Peruvian libra Pound Scots Prince Edward Island pound Rhode Island pound Rhodesian pound Rhodesia and Nyasaland pound Sammarinese lira Sardinian lira Solomon Islands pound South Carolina pound Southern Rhodesian pound South African pound South African Republic pound South West African pound Tongan pound Tuscan pound Vatican lira Virginia pound West Indian pound Western Samoan pound Zambian pound
See also	Dinar Pound sign Pound (mass)

Vatican lira

Contents

History[]

Coins[]

Circulating coins from Pius XI to Pius XII papacies (1929-1958)[]

See also[]

References[]