Does anyone know why the Vatican euros sell at such exorbitant prices? I know the 2002 was issued only as a collector's set, but why has that continued? Are they not making many? When I was in pre-Euro Italy Vatican sets were still expensive (about 60,000 Lire) but nonetheless affordable. Just curious.
The number, or rather total amount, of what the Vatican can issue per year is limited by the Monetary Agreement with the European Union. (After all, the country is not an EU member state.) And while that amount has gone up (currently the total volume is €1,037,000 per year), it still is not much - so the Vatican does not release any circulation issues. That may change some time in the future; the prices for recent pieces are not as high as for the earlier euro issues anyway ... Christian
The other reason is that you have to be on the Vatican Numismatic Office mailing list to actually order directly from them. The direct prices are more reasonable, but like most things in Italy, a few dealers buy them all and then resell them at much higher prices.
I'm not sure if that's true. I have a friend in germany who was a client and he bought some sets then, including the 2002 one. Plus, each client can only get one set. According to him, it takes 2 to 3 years to become a costumer again (he's trying), but if he's done it, I'd assume many other people did it too.
Yes, you can buy Vatican euro coins directly from the Numismatic Office (UFN), provided you are a registered customer. In that case you will get an order form via postal mail each time the Vatican issues new coins. Fill it out and return it, and the coins will come. May take quite a while, but as far as I can tell, they are reliable. They used to sell some coins and sets locally, in Rome, to anybody who showed up and was willing to wait in a long line. But that got quite chaotic, so now the direct sale is only for customers who received an order form. See http://www.vaticanstate.va/EN/Services/Philatelic_and_Numismatic_Office/ And no, currently none of the VA coins can be had at face. That may change in the future, due to a recent Council Conclusion (see below), but don't hold your breath ... http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/ecofin/105990.pdf (see page 1) http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/ecofin/106007.pdf (see page 18) "Euro coins intended for circulation should be put into circulation at face value. This does not exclude that a minor proportion of issued euro coins is sold at a higher price, if justified by reasons such as special quality or packaging. This rule should apply as from 1 January 2010 for the countries having Monetary Agreements with the European Community. The Commission is invited to review the functioning of the existing Monetary Agreements and to consider possible increases in the ceilings for coin issuance." Problem is, everybody knows that in a currency union you don't actually need "local" coins for the "local" cash supply. Just as you could use Italian lira cash in VA before the euro cash came, you can use circulation coins from any of the 19 euro countries there. So apart from collectors, who cares? Christian
Christian, if they enforce that rule, they will simply start making their sets proof instead. At least that's what I'd do :whistle:
A friend from Germany told me that San Marino issued Euros are also pricey as Vatican issues :goofer:. Now I'm not a serious collector of Euros so I'm guessing that same restrictions applies to San Marino coins as Vatican.
Oh, the Vatican does sell both unc and proof sets, and I don't think there is anything wrong about that. But if a country issues coins solely for collectors, and makes none available at face, there is something wrong methinks. Well, San Marino also makes quite a lot of money with issues for collectors, but they actually issue coins for circulation. Especially the 20 and 50 cent coins should not be hard to get. The €1 and €2 are more difficult, and the commemorative €2 coins cannot be had at face value. But all in all San Marino is much "easier" than Monaco or the Vatican ... Christian
I suppose they may have to keep on with high prices. So they should be good news for collectors, but who knows.
I agree ... especially with the second part of that sentence. In a German coin magazine http://www.muenzenmagazin.de/startseite0903/Editorial0903.htm I just read about a possible worst case scenario: At least half of the volume will have to be issued and brought into circulation at face, so less than 50% of the annual volume can make it into sets, so people who want entire sets will have to pay even more. Who knows what is going to happen ... My personal pessimist view: The (fewer) complete sets will cost more in the future, and the "loose" coins will immediately be grabbed by third parties that can then sell them ... at more than face. My personal optimist view: The "ceilings" mentioned in the Council Conclusion will actually be increased, so that more coins for sets and/or circulation can be issued, and prices may even go down. Pick one. Christian
