4745) Did You Know Series (154): Innovations in Numismatics: The Changing Face of Papal Coinage including a short note on what is a "zucchetto" and its colour coding in representing the heirarchy in the Church:
Pope Leo XIV brings the papal portrait back to Vatican circulation coins while drawing on a centuries-old tradition of balancing the man, his faith, and the office he represents.
Collectors have been asking since the beginning of the new pontificate: would Pope Leo XIV appear on the Vatican’s new Euro circulation coins, or will he follow his predecessor Francis and choose his Coat of Arms instead?
At the end of July 2026, the Vatican City State unveiled the new coin designs, providing a surprising answer: Leo XIV chose not one but both options.
The three smallest denominations, 1, 2, and 5 cents, feature his Coat of Arms, while denominations from 10 cents to 2 Euros bear his portrait. What had seemed to be a choice between the person and the office has thus become a carefully conceived visual programme.
20 lire 1868 featuring the portrait of Pius IX.
Leo XIV Opts for a
Dual Strategy:
The portrait by Daniela Longo shows the Pope in profile to the right.
Leo XIV wears the zucchetto*, and his face is rendered with clean lines and without excessive idealisation.
It recalls the classical form of the ruler’s portrait while dispensing with the dramatic gestures and sumptuous vestments with which popes of earlier centuries demonstrated their temporal and spiritual power on coins.
(* What is a zucchetto?
A zucchetto is a small, hemispherical skullcap worn by Catholic clergy to signify rank and maintain warmth, with colours indicating ecclesiastical hierarchy.
Definition and Design:
- The zucchetto is a close-fitting, brimless skullcap traditionally worn by clergy in the Catholic Church, as well as in some Lutheran, Anglican, and Methodist traditions.
- It is made of eight triangular panels of silk or polyester sewn together, often featuring a small stem on top.
- Its snug, lightweight design allows it to stay securely on the head, sometimes aided by discreet hair clips or pins during long ceremonies or outdoor services.
Historical Origins:
- The zucchetto evolved from the pileus, a Roman brimless hat, and has been worn by ecclesiastics since at least the 13th century.
- Originally, it served a practical purpose: covering the tonsured (shaved) heads of clergy to retain warmth in cold, drafty churches and monasteries
Over time, it acquired symbolic significance, representing clerical status and commitment to the Church.
Symbolism and Colour Coding:
The colour of the zucchetto indicates the wearer’s rank within the Church hierarchy:
White: Pope
Scarlet/Red: Cardinals
Violet/Purple: Bishops
Black: Priests
- The zucchetto is worn during most liturgical functions but is removed at specific moments of sacramental or theological significance.
- It symbolises authority, humility, service, and the sacred character imparted through Holy Orders.)
On the 10-, 20-, and 50-cent Coins, as well as the 1-Euro Coin, the Pope's profile takes centre stage.
The 2-Euro Coin combines the portrait with characteristic elements of the Papal Coat of arms, including the lily as a symbol of purity and Marian devotion, as well as a flaming heart pierced by an arrow above an open book.
This motif comes from the tradition of the Augustinian Order, to which Leo XIV belongs. It refers to a saying by St. Augustine, “You have wounded my heart with your love.”
The book represents the Word of God and the writings of the Doctor of the Church.
The three copper-coloured cent coins, by contrast, display the complete papal coat of arms with miter and crossed keys.
Its left field shows a silver lily on a blue background, while the right field features the flaming heart of the Augustinian Order on a light background.
The Coat of Arms thus combines the personal religious biography of Robert Francis Prevost with the traditional symbols of the papal office.
His motto, “In Illo uno unum” (In the one Christ we are one), also goes back to Augustine.
Although the coins themselves bear the Coat of Arms, the series’ overall design and packaging concept also draw on this heraldic identity.
- The Vatican describes the division between Coat of Arms and portrait as a solution never before used in its history of euro circulation sets.
- The basic idea is entirely new within the euro era.
Nevertheless, looking into the history of Vatican coinage reveals that the Vatican’s first coin series already divided its denominations between the papal portrait and the Coat of Arms:
10 lire 1951
featuring Pope Pius XII.
Sixtus IV Brings the
Papal Portrait to the Coin:
- The depiction of Sixtus IV on a double grosso created in 1483 is regarded as the first true papal portrait on a coin.
- Emiliano Orfini, an artist and mint master from Foligno, was commissioned to transfer the pope’s likeness to the die. The result was no longer a schematic figure representing an office, but the recognisable profile of a specific individual.
- Comparisons with contemporary portraits of Sixtus IV show how precisely Orfini captured his features.
- His successors developed this visual language further.
- Under Alexander VI, a papal profile appeared on a silver grosso around 1500, while the other side displayed the Borgia Coat of Arms with tiara and keys.
- Julius II likewise used portrait coins to underscore his claim to authority as a powerful Renaissance prince.
- Under Clement VII, even Benvenuto Cellini created coin dies. The goldsmith and sculptor modelled the Pope with the sculptural sharpness for which his work became famous.
A Historical
Precedent from 1929:
- The Papal States came to an end when Italian troops captured Rome in 1870.
- Regular papal coinage ceased as well.
- Only the Lateran Treaties of 1929 created the sovereign Vatican City State and made it possible to issue its own coins once again.
Links to my post on the "Lateran Pacts" on the blog:
The Lateran Pacts between Italy & the Vatican
- Pius XI used this new series to make visible both the political independence and the religious mission of the world’s smallest country.
- The coins dated 1929 were designed by Aurelio Mistruzzi and engraved by Attilio Silvio Motti.
- Their visual programme was far more varied than that of the later Euro Series.
- Only the three highest denominations—5, 10, and 100 lire—featured the portrait of Pius XI. The 5-, 10-, 20-, and 50-centesimi coins, as well as the 1- and 2-lire pieces, displayed his Coat of Arms.
- Each reverse had a different design: an olive branch, Peter and Paul, the Archangel Michael, the Immaculate Virgin, the Good Shepherd, Peter in the boat, Mary as Queen of Peace, or Christ the King.
- In essence, the Vatican’s first lira series followed the same dual strategy that Leo XIV is now adopting for the euro circulation coins.
- On the highest denominations, the face represented the reigning sovereign.
- The Coat of Arms identified the remaining denominations, while the Reverses unfolded a comprehensive programme of faith.
The new 2026 coin series is therefore less a complete break with tradition than a modern return to a concept dating from the founding era of Vatican City State.
- Under Pius XII and John XXIII as well, the Vatican lira did not become a uniform portrait currency.
- Coats of Arms, papal portraits, Christian virtues, and religious scenes alternated with one another.
Unlike the modern circulation coinage of many monarchies, not every denomination had to show the same head of state in identical form.
- Instead, the series functioned as a small sequence of images, with each denomination revealing additional aspects of the respective pontificate.
- John Paul I represents a special case. His pontificate lasted only 33 days in 1978—too short for a regular annual series bearing his portrait to be produced. Yet a silver 1,000-lire commemorative coin was issued that same year. It shows his left-facing bust, with his coat of arms on the reverse and the motto “Humilitas” on the edge.
100 lire 1963 featuring Pope Paul VI.
Paul VI Removes His
Face from the Coins:
Paul VI was particularly important as a precedent for Pope Francis’s decision. During the first years of his pontificate, which began in 1963, Giovanni Battista Montini still allowed himself to be depicted on coins. Toward the end of the 1960s, however, he changed course. Beginning with the 1970 circulation coin series, his papal coat of arms appeared on the obverses instead of his portrait.
John Paul II: Circulation Coins as a Chronicle of World History:
1995 200 lire featuring John
Paul II.
Few pontificates have left such a diversity of designs on Vatican coinage as that of John Paul II. While his portrait dominated the obverses for more than a quarter of a century and was repeatedly reinterpreted, the Vatican increasingly used the reverses as a numismatic chronicle of his pontificate.
The themes extended far beyond traditional religious imagery. Biblical motifs and central tenets of the faith appeared alongside social and political issues, the dignity of human life, peace, family, labor, agriculture, and responsibility toward the vulnerable.
100 lire 1979 featuring John
Paul II.
They were joined by events of global historical significance, such as the political transformation of Central and Eastern Europe, as well as themes directly connected with John Paul II’s extensive travels around the world and his understanding of the pastoral mission.
1982 500 lire featuring John Paul II.
From a Uniform Papal Image to Diversity Under Francis:
With the introduction of the euro in 2002, the eight circulation coins now received a uniform papal portrait, while thematic diversity shifted primarily to collector and commemorative coins.
- The first series, issued from 2002 to 2005, showed the same left-facing profile of John Paul II on all eight denominations.
- The pope thus became, more strongly than before, the sole identifying feature of Vatican circulation coinage. On the national side, the coins differed essentially only in size, metal colour, and the arrangement of the inscription.
Following the death of John Paul II, a complete "Sede Vacante" (Seat Vacant) series was issued in 2005.
- In place of a papal portrait appeared the Coat of Arms of Camerlengo Eduardo Martínez Somalo beneath the umbrella of the Apostolic Camera.
- The European Central Bank’s history of Vatican euro coins records this second Vatican Euro series, issued during the 2005 vacancy of the Holy See. The series thus documented not only the end of a pontificate, but also the temporary administration of Vatican state authority.
- The more open gaze gave the image a more personal character.
- This design remained on all denominations through 2013.
- After his resignation, European rules then in force no longer allowed the Vatican to create a new complete circulation coin series for the temporary Sede Vacante.
Instead, a 2-euro commemorative coin featuring the coat of arms of Camerlengo Tarcisio Bertone was issued in 2013.
2008 Vatican euro circulation coins featuring Benedict XVI.
- Pope Francis introduced the greatest portrait diversity in the history of Vatican euro coinage in 2014.
- Three different views were used for the eight circulation coins.
On the 1-, 2-, and 5-cent coins, Francis appeared in left-facing profile.
The 10-, 20-, and 50-cent denominations showed him facing forward.
On the 1- and 2-euro coins, he appeared in a three-quarter view facing right.
Three artists were involved: Gabriella Titotto, Orietta Rossi, and Patrizio Daniele, and the series appeared less hieratic than its predecessors.
The pope was presented not as an unchanging symbol of state, but from several perspectives.
Yet this series remained in use for only three years.
Beginning in 2017, the portrait disappeared from regular circulation coins.
- Francis had expressly requested that he no longer be depicted on coins and, as a general rule, on Vatican medals either.
- The coin office replaced the three portraits with a uniform coat-of-arms design by Daniela Longo.
- The ECB identifies this as the fifth series of Vatican euro coins, introduced in March 2017.
- No detailed public explanation by the pope for this step has been documented.
The decision is often attributed to his deliberately simple understanding of the papal office and his distance from personal self-presentation.
The Portrait Returns—But Not Alone:
Following the death of Francis, the 2025 "Sede Vacante" was once again documented through special coins.
Link to my post on this Sede Vacant Coin on this Blog:
- A 2-euro commemorative coin features the coat of arms of Camerlengo Kevin Joseph Farrell, surmounted by the umbraculum and crossed keys.
- A complete Sede Vacante circulation coin series like the one issued in 2005 was no longer possible under European rules. The regular national side may be changed when the head of state changes, but not solely because of a temporary vacancy.
2017 Euro circulation coins featuring the coat of arms of Pope Francis.
- With Leo XIV, the papal portrait is now returning to Vatican circulation coins. Yet it is not returning as the sole identifying feature.
- The new series respects both the long tradition of the ruler’s portrait and the more recent restraint of Francis.
-On the larger coins appears the individual person, Robert Francis Prevost. On the smaller denominations, the Coat of Arms represents his origins, office, and spiritual program. The 2-euro coin even brings both levels together on a single piece.
There is also a practical numismatic logic behind this approach:
- On the small cent coins, a clearly structured coat of arms can be more effective than a finely modelled face.
- The larger denominations, by contrast, provide enough space for a distinctive portrait.
The Vatican’s first coin series of 1929 had already used precisely this gradation, even though the distribution among the denominations was different at the time.
Leo XIV’s coins therefore do not settle the old question of whether a pope should appear on money as an individual or as an institution. Instead, they make the case that the two are inseparable.
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The Twelve Apostles Coin Series:
7) Michelangelo's "Pieta", Vatican City: New Copper Coin Series titled "Art and Faithy": A 10 Euro Copper Coin minted by the "Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca Dello Stato" (IPZS) on behalf of the "Ufficio Filatelico e Numismatico Governatorato della Cotta del Vaticano": Coin issue date: 05.03.2020
8) Ancient Postal Routes, Vatican City State: EUROPA 2020 Theme: Two stamps of 1.10 Euro and 1.15 Euro issued by the Ufficio filatelico e Numismatico -Governatorato, Vaticano featuring Ancient Postal Routes emanating from the Vatican City State during the 6th & 11th Centuries AD
Illustrious Italians Coin Series:
Italian Capital of Culture:
(Contd)
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Posts on the Ryder Cup on this Blog:
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