Discovering the revolutionary new Vatican series 2020

Particularly proud to introduce you my first coin 2020, issued just today - March 5th - by Vatican City: the first of a new series entitled "Art and Faith".

A truly special piece, coined in copper with an extraordinary print run of 43,000 pieces: for the first time the Vatican will sell a coin at its face value (10 euros) opening up to the interest not only of collectors but also of people less involved in the numismatic world.

To inaugurate this innovative series, one of the most famous works of art in the Vatican basilica, Michelangelo's Pietà, was chosen. The reproduction of the Pietà is inserted in a kind of ideal niche, delimited by the inscription "Vatican City" and twelve stars, recalling the European flag. The value of the coin - 10 euros - is engraved on the base on which the sculptural group rests. Here's a little curiosity: the small "R" on the left appears in each coin minted by the Italian Mint! it's a hallmark that specifically indicates the provenance of the coins minted by the Mint of Rome.

Trying my hand at bas-relief modelling of this rich and complex work was a difficult and exciting challenge at the same time: the relief of a bas-relief made for a coin model can rarely exceed 3 millimeters in height, and it's important not to create too much difference between the highest and lowest point of the composition. It's a "game of balance and fiction", to give the idea of depth even having only 3mm available! Here are some details of the model I made by hand, starting from plasticine to the plaster casting: in a world where everything is now digitally realized, this kind of process might seem strange or anachronistic... but contact with the material still remains the greatest source of creativity and fun for me, as for many artists I have known!

These 10 euros coppers for the "Art and Faith" Vatican series are already on sale in major online retailers, but you can also order your coin directly from the Vatican Philatelic and Numismatic Office by writing to the following email: [email protected]