101106 | ITALY. Vatican City. Pope Pius XI silver Medal.

101106  |  ITALY. Vatican City. Pope Pius XI silver Medal. Issued Year XIV (1935). The canonization of the martyrs Thomas More & John Fisher (44mm, 37.41 g, 12h). By A. Mistruzzi in Rome.

 

PIVS • XI • PONTIFEX • MAXIMVS • ANNO • XIV, bust of Pius left, wearing ornate pallium, stole, and zucchetto / Nimbate, capped, and draped busts of Sts. Thomas More and John Fisher facing slightly right and left, respectively; in four lines in exergue, THOMAS • MORE • IOAN • FISHER / 4 • A • MARTYRIO • SAECVLO / SANCTI • RENVNCIATI / XIV • KAL • IVN. Edge: Plain.

 

Bartolotti E 935; Rinaldi 129. Mint State. Deeply toned, with some hints of underlying brilliance.

 

Serving as the Bishop of Rochester and later as the Chancellor of Cambridge University, John Fisher was executed in 1535 at the order of King Henry VIII for Fisher's refusal to recognize the former as the supreme head of the Church of England. Sir Thomas More served as Lord High Chancellor of England under Henry VIII from 1529 to 1532, though his outspoken views against the reformation and Henry's break from the Catholic Church caused his downfall, with he too being similarly executed just a few weeks after Fisher. On account of their dedication to Rome, both individuals were canonized by Pius XI in 1935, with them sharing a feast day.

 

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