Hi All, I'm new to the forum and I've been looking around for a couple of days and I decided to sign up and ask a question about a coin I have in the hopes that someone can give me some info on a coin I have, it's a Sede Vacante Coin dated 1770. Can anyone tell me what I have and where I might be able to get some more information about it? Thanks Sam,
Welcome, Sam! Unfortunately it is hard to tell, without a photo, what or from where your coin/medal is. These days my first guess would always be the Vatican, as the country still issues SV pieces. But in the 18th century, several countries (mostly dioceses) had Vacant Seat medals made ... Christian
After the death (or rarely, the resignation) of the Pope the change of leadership for the Roman Catholic Church invariably means a brief time of interregnum – what is called the Sede Vacante. The Latin term simply means “the empty seat,” that seat being the throne of St. Peter. But during the Sede Vacante, the Mint of Vatican City continues to issue coins. These do not show an image of the past pope, however. The rule is that they show the crossed keys and umbrella that are the arms of the Vatican chamberlain, more commonly known as the Camerlengo. Are you certain of the date 1770? There was no interregnum that year but was in 1769. http://www.csun.edu/~hcfll004/SV1769.html Your coin would represent the period between the death of Pope Clement XIII and the election of Clement XIV. Edit to add: Christian has given a better answer. I didn't know that individual dioceses issued Sede Vacante coins as well as the Vatican.
Not necessarily coins, but medals - yes. Here is a 1770 piece from the German diocese of Speyer: http://www.ma-shops.de/diller/item.php5?id=90604001 (scroll down a little until you see the large image) Christian
