1 Euro Cent - Sede Vacante

Sede Vacante issues are authorized by the Apostolic Chamber — the body that governs the Catholic Church between pontificates — and struck only during the interregnum following a pope's death. This piece dates to the vacancy after John Paul II died on April 2, 2005, one of the shortest Sede Vacante periods in modern history at just 19 days before Joseph Ratzinger was elected Benedict XVI on April 19. The Camerlengo at the time was Cardinal Eduardo Martínez Somalo, whose authority technically sanctioned the issue.

Because the window for striking was so narrow, mintages are sharply limited, and the 2005 set remains among the more actively traded Vatican Sede Vacante issues of the euro era.