103219 | ITALY. Vatican City. Pope Pius XII silver Medal.

103219  |  ITALY. Vatican City. Pope Pius XII silver Medal. Issued Year XX (1958). Commemorating the new Vatican radio transmitting center in Santa Maria di Galeria (44mm, 36.15 g, 12h). By Aurelio Mistruzzi at the Rome mint.

 

PIVS • XII • PONTIFEX • MAXIMVS • ANNO • XX, bust right, wearing zucchetto, stole, and pallium // + VATICANA • RADIOPHONICA • STATIO • AMPLIFICATA • ADAVCTA, Archangel Gabriel flying left; radio towers in background, with central tower terminating in the form of a stylized cross; DIE • XX VII / OCT • MC MLVII in two lines across field. Edge: Plain.

 

Bartolotti E958; Rinaldi 152; Cusumano-Modesti 266; Ehling/Ernesti 39. Choice Mint State. Exceedingly lustrous and prooflike, with a great argent aspect and frosted nature, and just a few hints of toning.

 

This example presents the emerging technology of the times, as well as the papacy's adaptation to it, with the inauguration of the Vatican radio on 27 October 1957. Here, the Archangel Gabriel, associated with messaging on account of his role in the annunciation, plays a similar role with the papacy—and news about it—taking to the airwaves. A similar first was the creation of the Vatican's Twitter ["X"] account, @pontifex, some 55 years later under then-Pope Francis, who sent the account's first tweet on 12 December 2012.

 

Upload: 19 December 2025.

 

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