Obverse. Photo © HISTORIA-HAMBURG.de
  • 20 Euro Cent 2017-2024, KM# 459.1, Vatican City, Pope Francis
  • 20 Euro Cent 2017-2024, KM# 459.1, Vatican City, Pope Francis
Description

Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936) is the 266th and current Pope of the Catholic Church, a title he holds ex officio as Bishop of Rome, and sovereign of Vatican City. He chose Francis as his papal name in honor of Saint Francis of Assisi. Francis is the first Jesuit pope, the first from the Americas, the first from the Southern Hemisphere, and the first pope from outside Europe since the Syrian Gregory III, who reigned in the 8th century.

The portrait of the Pope has been replaced by the Papal shield. Pope Francis is not the first to take the design to remove his portrait from the design of the Vatican coins. In 1970 Paul VI at the end of his pontificate also asked not to appear in the Vatican lire.

Obverse

The crowned coat of arms of Pope Francis is encircled by the inscription "CITTA' DEL VATICANO" (Vatican City) and the twelve stars of Europe.

The coat of arms displays three charges on a blue field. In reference to Francis being a Jesuit, the uppermost charge is the emblem of the Society of Jesus. The emblem is composed of a Sun radiant, within which is the IHS christogram (a monogram of the Holy Name of Jesus). Below the Jesuit emblem is an eight-pointed star, the star being a long-standing symbol of the Virgin Mary, and a spikenard representing Saint Joseph. Unusually, Francis also decided to retain his personal motto: Miserando atque eligendo (Latin: "by having mercy, by choosing him"). It is taken from the 21st homily of Saint Bede, which is on the Gospel of Matthew and refers to the vocation of Saint Matthew.

The papal tiara is a crown that was worn by popes of the Catholic Church from as early as the 8th century to the mid-20th. It was last used by Pope Paul VI in 1963 and only at the beginning of his reign. From 1143 to 1963, the papal tiara was solemnly placed on the pope's head during a papal coronation. The surviving papal tiaras are all in the triple form, the oldest being of 1572, and the others no earlier than 1800.

Artist: Daniela Longo
Engraver: Silvia Petrassi (SP INC.)

CITTA' DEL VATICANO
IHS
R 2017
MISERANDO ATQUE ELIGENDO
D.LONGO SP INC.

Reverse

A geographical map of Western Europe spans the outer ring and inner core on the left side of the coin.

12 stars are located on the left side of the outer ring, with six stars atop the map of Europe and six stars below it; six vertical stripes cut across the inner core of the coin, visually connecting the upper and lower star segments.

Luc Luycx, a designer at the Royal Belgian Mint, designed the Euro’s common reverse; his initials, LL, are seen on the right side of the design, just under the “0” in “20.”

20
LL
EURO
CENT

Edge

A smooth edge separated into equal sections by seven indents (Spanish flower)

Characteristics
Material Nordic Gold
Weight 5.74 g
Diameter 22.25 mm
Thickness 2.14 mm
Shape round
Alignment Medal
Mint
Italian State Mint and Polygraphic Institute (IPZS)

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