102836 | ITALY. Pope Pius IX lead Bulla.

102836  |  ITALY. Pope Pius IX lead Bulla. Issued 1846-1878 (47mm, 74.00 g, 12h).

 

Nimbate bearded heads of Sts. Peter and Paul facing one another; Latin cross between, rays around // PIVS / PAPA / IX in three lines; radiant cross crosslet above.

 

Serafini 526-7. Nearly as Made. Deep slate gray surfaces, with solid detail remaining as well as the document cord at the top and bottom.

 

Bullae, or seals in Latin, were numismatic-related objects generally cast in lead and bore some identifying factor to an important office holder. They would then be affixed to documents along with their added cord in order to ensure that the document had not been opened before reaching its intended recipient. The term "Papal Bull" even emanates from these seals, as the official proclamations would bear the pope's official bulla, thus becoming synonymous with such important decrees. In the case of this seal, it is a design that would have been in use throughout the papacy of Pius IX—the final pope of the Papal States before his, and successive pope's, self-imposed confinement within the walls of the Vatican and the settling of the Roman question in 1929.

 

Upload: 1 June 2024.