103262 | ITALY. Vatican City. Pope Pius XII silver Medal.

103262  |  ITALY. Vatican City. Pope Pius XII silver Medal. Issued 1950. The Jubilee Year and the Holy Door (44mm, 39.70 g, 12h). By Aurelio Mistruzzi at the Rome mint.

 

PIVS • XII • ROMANVS • PONTIFEX • MAXIMVS •, bust left, wearing zucchetto, stole, and pallium // + EGO • SVM • OSTIVM • PER • ME • SI • QVIS • INTROIERIT • SALVABITVR, view of the Holy Door. Edge: Plain.

 

Bartolotti E950; Rinaldi 144; Cusumano-Modesti 76. Choice Mint State. Highly brilliant and prooflike, with some tinges of iridescent toning sprinkled throughout.

 

A tradition started in 1300 under Pope Bonifacius VIII, the opening of the Holy Door was meant to take place every 25 years (or thereabouts). The opening of such a door, a portal within one of the major Papal basilicas of Rome, was meant to cleanse those who passed through during a pilgrimage. Within Rome, the four Holy Doors are in Saint Peter's (specifically within the Vatican City), the Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran, the Basilica of Saint Mary the Great, and the Basilica of Saint Paul outside the Walls.

 

Upload: 3 November 2025.