- Home
- Collections
- Search the Collection
- 50 lire St. Casimir Palace and Cathedral single
50 lire St. Casimir Palace and Cathedral single
Object Details
- Description
- On December 14, 1959, Vatican City issued two stamps of identical design commemorating the 500th anniversary of the birth of St. Casimir, (1458-1484), the patron saint of Lithuania. The issue includes 50-lire sienna and 100-lire dark green values.
- The stamp's horizontal design includes an image of St. Casimir encircled with the inscription "S. Casimirvs, Primarivs Lithvaniae Patronvs, 1458-1958" (St. Casmir, First Patron of Lithuania). The façade of the cathedral at Vilnus and the tower of Gediminas are also featured. "Post Vaticane" appears at the stamp's lower edge, as does the value indicia.
- Casimir was the second son of King Casimir IV of the Jagiellion dynasty of Lithuania and Poland. The dynasty ruled an extensive commonwealth of multiple states that reached its greatest extent in fifteenth century Central Europe and western Russia. Tutored by historian Father John Dlugosz, Casimir possessed great charm and character and was known for a life devoted to charity, fasting, and chastity. At age 13, he accepted the throne of Hungary from a faction within that country, but the effort collapsed. He served as viceroy of Poland during his father's five-year absence in Lithuania. Casimir died of tuberculosis in 1484 at age 25 and was canonized in 1522.
- The stamp measures 4 cm x 2.5 cm, is perforated 14 x 14, and contains the Crossed Keys of St. Peter watermark. Lithuanian artist Vytautas Kazimieras Jonynas designed the stamp, and A. Quieti engraved it. The Italian Government Printing Works in Rome prepared the monochrome stamp by lithography. It produced 817,300 sets of the stamps, which remained valid for postage until December 31, 1960.
- Sources:
- "Vatikanstaat," in Michel Europa Katalog, band 3, Südeuropa, Unterschleißheim, Germany: Schwanberger Verlag GMBH, 2008.
- "Vatican City," in Stanley Gibbons Stamp Catalogue, part 8, Italy and Switzerland, 7th edition. Ringwood: Hampshire, England, 2010.
- "St. Casimir," in Donald Attwater, The Penguin Dictionary of Saints. London: Penguin Books, 1965.
- "St. Casimir," in The Catholic Encyclopedia, 1914 Classic Edition, CD Rom edition (ISBN 0-9743644-0-1).
- Data Source
- National Postal Museum
- Date
- December 14, 1959
- Object number
- 2008.2009.266
- Type
- Postage Stamps
- Medium
- paper; ink(multicolored)
- Place
- VATICAN CITY (independent city state)
- See more items in
- National Postal Museum Collection
- Title
- Scott Catalogue Vatican City 264
- Topic
- International Stamps & Mail
- Record ID
- npm_2008.2009.266
- Usage
- Usage conditions apply
There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .
International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.