0 Euro Pope Pius XII

EuroSouvenir's 0 Euro program operates under license from the European Central Bank, which permits the issuance of legal-format collector notes in the Euro size provided they carry a zero denomination — technically legal tender in the sense that no counterfeiting law is broken, but practically worthless as a payment instrument and designed to be so. Oberthur Fiduciaire, one of the few security printers with the ECB certification to produce these, handles the bulk of the series.

The choice of Pius XII has generated consistent controversy since his beatification cause was opened in 1994. His conduct during the Holocaust — whether strategic silence or complicit neutrality — remains unresolved in serious historical scholarship, which makes him an unusual selection for a commemorative issue aimed at general tourism markets.