2 Euros - Sede Vacante

Issued in the weeks between the death of John Paul II on April 2, 2005, and the election of Benedict XVI on April 19, the Sede Vacante coinage is one of the few instances in modern European numismatics where a vacancy of the Holy See generated a distinct, officially dated circulating issue. Authority during the interregnum passed to the College of Cardinals under Camerlengo Eduardo Martínez Somalo, whose role — not any pope's — authorized the striking.

Mintage was tightly capped, making this among the lowest-production Vatican euro-denomination coins of the entire series. Most examples went directly into collector hands and never reached circulation.