Euro

The 2009 Vatican €2 series coincided with the International Year of Astronomy, but more significantly it was struck during the sede vacante transition year following Benedict XVI's ongoing pontificate — not a vacancy, but a period of considerable institutional attention to the papacy's public image following years of controversy. Vatican coin mintages are constitutionally capped by agreement with the Italian Republic, keeping annual production figures well below those of any EU member state and making even circulated examples genuinely scarce in everyday commerce.