The 1689 Sede Vacante issue was struck during the interregnum following the death of Innocent XI in August of that year. Authority over the papal mint passed to the Camerlengo during the vacancy — the period between a pope's death and his successor's election — producing these issues as the sole legitimate coinage of an institution without a head. The conclave of 1689 lasted only five days, electing Alexander VIII on October 6, which kept this particular vacancy among the shorter ones of the century.
The 1689 Sede Vacante issue was struck during the interregnum following the death of Innocent XI in August of that year. Authority over the papal mint passed to the Camerlengo during the vacancy — the period between a pope's death and his successor's election — producing these issues as the sole legitimate coinage of an institution without a head. The conclave of 1689 lasted only five days, electing Alexander VIII on October 6, which kept this particular vacancy among the shorter ones of the century.