103175 | ITALY. Vatican City. Pope Pius XII silver Medal.

103175  |  ITALY. Vatican City. Pope Pius XII silver Medal. Issued 1939/Year I. Commemorating his election to the papacy (44mm, 35.90 g, 12h). By Aurelio Mistruzzi.

 

PIVS • XII • PONTIFEX • MAXIMVS • A • I, bust left, wearing stole, pallium, and zucchetto // CHRISTIANO • POPVLO • RECTOR • ET • PATER • DATVS • VI • NON • MART • A • MCMXXXIX, garnished papal coat-of-arms; above, tiara above crossed keys. Edge: Plain.

 

Bartolotti E939; Rinaldi 133. Choice Mint State. Exceedingly brilliant and prooflike, with deeply burnished iridescence around the devices.

 

The papal conclave of 1939 was the shortest conclave in the 20th century, lasting two days, with the election of Pius XII (Eugenio Pacelli) coming on his 63rd birthday and on the third ballot. Being elected to the papacy just six months before the outbreak of World War II, Pius XII spent a large portion of his early reign dealing with the global conflict, garnering some allegations of silence with respect to Germany's treatment of the Jews. The continued emergence of communism served as a backdrop of his reign as well, with a decree being issued against it. In it, he declared that Catholics who subscribed to such political beliefs would be excommunicated from the fold as apostates.

 

Upload: 5 May 2025.

 

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