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 Euros - Benedictus XVI Swiss Guard
| Issuer | Vatican City State |
|---|---|
| Year | 2006 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | 2 Euros |
| 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 | Log in to see details |
| 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 | The inner disc depicts a Pontifical Swiss Guard in full traditional uniform, bearing the Papal flag and taking the oath of loyalty to the Pope, commemorating the 500th anniversary of the Corps. The legend GUARDIA SVIZZERA PONTIFICIA arcs along the upper periphery of the inner disc, while CITTÀ DEL VATICANO appears in the lower field beneath the flag. The founding year 1506 is inscribed to the left of the figure, with the engraver's signature O. ROSSI positioned below it along the flagpole; the issue year 2006 and the Rome Mint mark R appear to the right. The twelve stars of the European Union are arranged on the outer bimetallic ring. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Log in to see details |
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Log in to see details |
| 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 | 2006 R - - 100,000 |
| Additional information |
Issued to mark the 500th anniversary of the Pontifical Swiss Guard, this coin commemorates the corps founded by Pope Julius II on January 22, 1506, when 150 soldiers arrived in Rome under the command of Kaspar von Silenen. The Guard's survival through centuries of political upheaval — including the Sack of Rome in 1527, when 147 guardsmen died protecting Clement VII — made the quincentenary a genuinely significant institutional milestone for the Vatican.
Benedict XVI's papacy began just the previous year, making this one of his earliest commemorative issues. Vatican euro coins are produced in strictly limited quantities and are not legal tender outside Vatican City, which has kept collector demand consistently high for the entire Benedict XVI series.