(Where) Did Vatican Lira coins circulate? [solved]

8 posts
Hello,

I recently began collecting Vatican lira coins, and a lot of the ones I've seen seem to have traces of circulation- although not anywhere nearly as much as Italian issues from the same period. But since the Vatican is the smallest sovereign state in the world, I doubt that even with their meager mintages (mostly under 100,000) they all circulated inside the Vatican.

So did they circulate in Rome like Vatican Euros today do (a least the ones minted on identical planchets as their Italian contemporaries? Because I seriously doubt there was much use for them inside the Vatican (no Vatican banknotes exist), and they can't all have been for collectors.
I remember getting a Vatican 200 Lire coin as change after buying a postcard in the Vatican Museum somewhere in the 1990's (when I was young). I think that pretty much tells the story of these coins. They were released into circulation but quickly found their way into collectors' hands.
Thanks, while I was in Rome I received a 2011 50 cents with Pope Benedict XVI on it in change (outside the Vatican) which prompted my question.

So essentially, Vatican issues did circulate in the area around it (Rome), as normal Lira/Euro coins; is this true with the earlier issues as well?
Status changed to Solved (CassTaylor, 9-Jan-2019, 07:45)
I would expect the same story goes for earlier Vatican coins since the Lateran Treaty of 1929, but maybe not all denominations. Vatican coins always had the same specifications as their Italian counterpart.
All the post WWII issues circulated (somewhat) in Italy as well, similarly to San Marino issues. I imagine earlier issues would have circulated in Italy in the same way that American coinage circulates in Canada and vice-versa.
Much more interesting is the question of LMU era coinage, In fact while equivalent to the rest of LMU coinage in terms of size, weight and composition, they were NOT! deemed legal tender in Italy as "too many were being minted" I believed 5 lira silver coins in .900 silver rather than in the .835 silver smaller denominations were issued in and 20 lira gold coins were legal tender.
Some of the odd papal denominations such as the very rare (ignore the catalogues) 2.5 lira coin (which is very high on my want list) the 1/2 soldo and the 4 soldi, 2.5 and 20 cents copper coins along with the 5 soldi silver (which had napoleonic and Sardinian equivalents) did not circulate in the rest of the country, and are found in relatively good condition commonly. The 4 soldi silver is only to be considered a pattern.
I am at this time unsure about the legal tender status of the 5 lira gold coin in the rest of Italy.
A full papal type set is something I dream about!

Copper:
1 Cent.
2.5 Cent. (1/2 soldo)
5 Cent. (soldo)
10 Cent (2 soldi)
20 Cent. (4 soldi)

Silver
20 Cent. (4 Soldi)
25 Cent. (5 Soldi)
50 Cent. (10 Soldi)
1 Lira
2 Lire
2.5 Lire
5 Lire

Gold
5 Lire
10 Lire
20 Lire
50 Lire
100 Lire
I collect anything: If it's Italian or Italian states i collect it even more!
After World War 2, they definitely circulated around Rome, but were legal tender throughout Italy as the sizes and weights were the same as Italian coins.

I imagine circulated oens would be quite scarce, as Vatican coins were minted in small numbers and quite collectable. I could imagine most conscious Italians if they found a Vatican (Or San Marinese) coin in their change would hold on to it (Especially by the 80s when all Italian coins under 500 lire had almost no buying power). I find like San Marino, they often sell their coins at a premium in the shops ( I paid something like 10 Euros for a 50 cent coin of the Pope (Limited edition in a card) and in San Marino, they charged like 4 - 10 face value for their current coins in the shop, and most change was given in other Euro coins (In 2014 when I was in Italy, most Euro coins in change I noticed were Italian and French with some Spanish, German and Austrian), one man at the waxworks museum in San Marino gave me a new 2 euro coin as change and I have kept it.

For the Vatcian I found a 50 and 100 lire coin from the 1970s in a bag of junk coins I bought and both were basically uncirculated like they had been put aside.
I love coins
I visited San Marino in 2018 with my wife. We actually stayed at a lovely beachside hotel in Rimini in Italy and drove the 45 min drive up to San Marino on two different days. It is a lovely place to visit with absolutely outstanding views.

While there I of course visited one of the Coin Shops and bought a few special euro coins. I paid in cash and asked for the change to be in San Marino euro coins. They obliged and gave me some really nice SM circulation euro coins.

Also whenever we spent money at any shop such as a coffee shop, tourist shop, castle entry etc, I asked if they had San Marino coins. Whenever they could I was given some. So I really enjoyed myself while I was there.

My wife was not so impressed haha

Regards Mike
Referee for Australia & New Zealand Coins & Exonumia, Papua New Guinea & Cocos & Keeling Islands Coins & Australian Banknotes. I Collect > Australia, UK & Dependancies, NZ Sets, USA & Euros plus Misc Exonumia.
Quote: "Moneytane"I could imagine most conscious Italians if they found a Vatican (Or San Marinese) coin in their change would hold on to it (Especially by the 80s when all Italian coins under 500 lire had almost no buying power).
​In cases like that I imagine the lucky Italian would attempt to sell their find to a coin dealer, only to be disappointed that their find will likely not make them rich! I don't imagine a contemporary Vatican coin is worth too much numismatically- even today Vatican euros, unless they're in proof or special UNC sets/collectors' coin cards, are hardly worth more than face value.

A little anecdote; last year when I was in Rome, I found an old man selling coins on a folding table on Via Corso; nothing too special, just a few common items. I was returning from coin shopping, and only had a Vatican 50 cent coin left; so I swapped that for this coin, an aluminium 1951 Vatican 10 lire.

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