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Message:: [QUOTE="kvasir, post: 73912, member: 4139"]Ahh thanks. It's ads like these that have been making things confusing. Such as this one: <a href="http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=8334943847&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=8334943847&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT" rel="nofollow">http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=8334943847&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT</a>In the ad it's sorta implied that "essai" is proof and with tirage (mintage) in the thousands it seems like it was an official issue. I know "essai" means "trial". But i thought trial pieces are made from the die that HAS ALREADY been accepted for regular coinage and that it only bears a mint mark showing that it's a trial. Otherwise trial pieces look identical to regular issue. Now how does this apply on Vatican coins? Are these trial sets authentic? All these differnent folder designs I've seen on ebay give the impression that it's not an authentic issue from the Vatican. But if those sets are at least minted by the Vatican, no matter what the purpose was I'd love to own one of those.[/QUOTE]