This week of the New Year has been dead for any finds so I'll sift through a small bag of coins I bought a while back that I wanted to post because they caught my eye. They were either odd or new to me or just in great shape. Again none are rare or unique but I like to share so for the slow times I'll post one of these.
Being one of the smallest countries in the world as well as the religious center of for a billion Roman Catholics most of their coins rarely makes it into change. Nearly every year brings a new design to Vatican City coins and the Pope is the supreme leader who approves every thing on this 0.17 sq. mi. (0.44 sq. km.) dot of land on Earth.
Each coin has two dates one the Roman date of the year of issue and the second is the year of rule of that particular Pope. In this coin pictured below you'll see:
MCMLXXXVII = 1987 A.D.
IX = The ninth year of rule by Pope John Paul II.
The reverse features The Annunciation which is when the angel Gabriel visited Mary to tell her she's going to be a mom and God is the father. I'm sure he used more tact.Of course these are older coins and now the Vatican City uses euros. They are actually up to a third euro design. Before 2002 it was all about lire and centesimi both are currently obsolete. Amounts of older coins in existence is hard to say because I've never seen any reliable mentions of mintage figures or recycling of old money so for that I'm stuck.
While the scanner is picking up every micron of dust and dirt this coin looks better in hand and has lots of luster so I'll say it's extra-fine grade.
Type/Country: 100 Lire / Vatican City
Year: 1987/IX
Mintage: Unbeknownst
Metal: Stainless Steel
Value: $3.50 in UNC
Do you have a foreign coin and want to know its value? Leave a comment/question and I will do my best to find out the price and history for you.
