Catalog
See full images - free registration
Continue with Google - no registration!
or register with email
Why register? Just to keep bots out of our catalog. Your email stays private - we will never share it or send you anything uninvited. We guarantee you that!
2 Cents Probe Trial Essai
| Issuer | Vatican City |
|---|---|
| Year | 2005-2007 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | Log in to see details |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Weight | Log in to see details |
| Diameter | Log in to see details |
| Thickness | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Technique | Milled |
| Orientation | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Three-quarter left-facing effigy of Pope Benedict XVI depicted in papal cassock with clerical collar visible at the neckline. The portrait fills the majority of the field and is rendered in a restrained, linear engraving style. The curved legend BENEDICTUS XVI arcs along the upper periphery in raised Latin capitals. The date 2005 appears in the right field at mid-height, flanking the lower portion of the bust. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | The denomination numeral 2 and the letter c appear prominently in the left field, rendered in a bold stylised typeface. To the right, the papal tiara surmounting crossed keys — the heraldic emblem of the Holy See — is depicted centrally, with four elongated vertical lines rising above it to the upper rim, evoking a stylised canopy or baldachin. A ring of small five-pointed stars borders the upper and lower periphery. The trilingual inscription probe • trial • essai curves along the lower left rim, identifying the piece as a trial strike. |
| Reverse script | Log in to see details |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Edge | Log in to see details |
| Mint | Log in to see details |
| Mintage | Log in to see details |
| Additional information |
Between 2005 and 2007, the Vatican produced small runs of probe and trial pieces as part of the approval process for euro coinage designs — a procedural requirement before confirmed designs enter official production. These were never released for circulation and exist outside the standard collector sets issued annually by the Governatorato.
The 2005 issues carry particular significance within the series: Benedict XVI's pontificate began that April, requiring a complete redesign cycle mid-approval process following the death of John Paul II.