75c Coronation of Pope Pius XII
Object Details
- Description
- Vatican City issued four stamps on June 2, 1939, to mark the coronation of Pope Pius XII (1876-1958). The set of identical design includes the 25-centessimi, 80-centessimi and 1.25-lire values.
- The design depicts the moment at which Pius XII was crowned with the papal triple tiara. Two cardinals are shown – one, to the pope’s left, extending a pastoral staff and crucifix to Pius XII and one, on the right, placing the crown. Portions of two papal ceremonial fans (flabella) appear in the design’s upper left and right. POSTE VATICANE appears in a frame at the top of the stamp, and XII MARZO MCMXXXIX, 12 March 1939, (date of coronation) appears in a block at the bottom center. CENT. (Centessimi) appears in a smaller block at the bottom left, and the number 25 appears in a block at the bottom right.
- The 25-centessimi stamp is green, perforated 14 x 14, vertical in design, and measures 2.5 cm. x 4 cm. No watermark appears on the stamp. The 75-centessimi stamp is carmine red, the 80-centessimi is bright violet, and the 1.25-lire is deep blue.
- Corrado Messana designed the stamp, which Italian Government Printing Works, Instituto Poligrafico di Stato, Rome, printed in monochrome by photogravure. The printer produced 500,000 copies of the 25-centessimi stamp and 400,000 copies of the other values. The stamps were valid for postage until withdrawn on July 31, 1943.
- References:
- “Vatikanstaat,” in Michel Europa Katalog, band 3. Südeüropa, Unterschleißheim, Germany: Schwanberger Verlag GMBH, 2008.
- “Vatican City,” in Stanley Gibbons Stamp Catalogue, part 8, 7th ed. Ringwood, Hampshire, England, 2010.
- “Vatican City,” in Scott Standard Stamp Catalogue, vol 6. Sidney, OH: Scott Publishing Company, 2006.
- “Pius XII,” in J. N. D. Kelly, The Oxford Dictionary of Popes. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006.
- Duffy, Eamon. Saints & Sinners: A History of the Papacy, 2nd ed. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2001.
- Mit brennender Sorge, or With Burning Anxiety (1937), and Summi Pontificatus, or On the Unity of Human Society (1939), in Papal Encyclicals Online, located at
- http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Pius11/P11BRENN.HTM, and http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Pius12/P12SUMMI.HTM (accessed 19-20 January 2010).
- Data Source
- National Postal Museum
- Date
- June 2, 1939
- Object number
- 2008.2009.64
- 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 69
- Topic
- International Stamps & Mail
- Record ID
- npm_2008.2009.64
