Vatican Coins Feature Face of Pope Leo XIV for First Time in Decades

The Vatican City State Mint has released a new set of coins to commemorate Pope Leo XIV's pontificate and the Jubilee Year of St. Francis of Assisi.

The inaugural euro coin set features both the face and coat of arms of Pope Leo XIV, making it the first time in nearly a decade that the Vatican has issued coins with a pope's portrait.

The set also includes a special five-euro commemorative coin depicting St. Francis renouncing his worldly possessions before the bishop of Assisi to mark the 800th anniversary of the death of St. Francis of Assisi on the opposite side of Pope Leo's visage.

The euro became Vatican City's official currency in 2002, and Vatican euro coins are highly sought after by collectors due to limited minting quotas and high demand.

The current commemorative coin set is available for sale at 39 euros (about $45) on the official website of the Vatican's numismatic office, which is higher than its nominal value of 3.88 euros.