Vatican

2020

Commemorative coin

100th Anniversary of the Birth of Pope John Paul II

Official Journal of the European Union

The design features Pope John Paul II, the home where He was born and the Basilica near His home in Wadowice, Poland. At the top left, in semi-circle is the inscription ‘PAPA GIOVANNI PAOLO II’. At the right are the years ‘1920 2020’, and the mintmark ‘R’. At the bottom, in semi-circle, is the name of the issuing country ‘CITTA’ DEL VATICANO’. Under the image of the Basilica are the artist’s name ‘G. TITOTTO’ and the engraver’s initials ‘M.A.C. INC’ (Maria Angela Cassol, engraver). The coin’s outer ring depicts the 12 stars of the European flag.

Additional information

The coin depicts Pope John Paul II (1820-2005) over a laurel branch, behind the parish church "Ofiarowania Najświętszej Maryi Panny" in the Polish town of Wadowice and his birthplace there, which is now a museum. A brick church built around 1450, destroyed in the town fire of 1726, was replaced in 1792-1798 by a late baroque basilica dedicated to the Offering of the Virgin Mary, where Karol Józef Wojtyła was baptized. The eight-pointed star emblazoned on the coin is considered the supreme allegory of Christ, a physical representation of the concept of divinity and truth, and at the same time symbolises the Virgin Mary, to whom John Paul II dedicated his pontificate. Since an eclipse occurred on the day of his birth (a partial one, in Australia), as well as on the day of his funeral (a hybrid one, in Panama/Colombia/Venezuela), the star also represents a sun whose disk is "darkened" by concentric segments of a circle.

Edge lettering

Designer