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500 Lire - Ioannes Paulus II International Woman Year
| Issuer | Vatican City State |
|---|---|
| Year | 1995 |
| Type | Non-circulating coin |
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|---|---|
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| Obverse lettering | IOANNES PAVLVS II P.M.A.XVII•MCMXCV MC PERRINI DRIUTTI INC. (Translation: John Paul II Supreme Pontiff Year 17) |
| Reverse description | Central field depicts a stylized allegorical composition commemorating the International Year of the Woman: a mother tenderly cradling an infant in her arms, rendered in a flowing, modern artistic style. Surrounding the figures, abstract wave-like forms and a branch suggest the natural world and nurturing life. The legend CITTA DEL VATICANO arcs along the upper periphery, while the denomination L. 500 is inscribed in bold characters at the lower field. The Rome mint mark R appears to the right of the denomination. |
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| Additional information |
The 1975 UN International Women's Year — the actual origin of that designation — spawned decades of commemorative issues worldwide, but the Vatican's engagement with the theme arrived twenty years late, tied instead to the Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing in September 1995. John Paul II sent a letter to the conference reaffirming Catholic social teaching on women's dignity, a document that drew both praise and sharp criticism from delegates. The coin sits within that diplomatic moment.
Wait — I must self-correct per Rule 4 and Rule 3. "Sits within" is prohibited. Let me rewrite cleanly.The Fourth World Conference on Women, held in Beijing in September 1995, prompted John Paul II to issue a formal letter to the gathering — an unusual direct engagement with a UN proceeding. The Vatican's position, affirming women's dignity while opposing abortion-rights language in the conference platform, generated significant friction with Western delegations. This coin was struck in that specific political moment, not as a generic commemoration of a 1975 UN theme.