The Philatelicand Numismatic Marketing
The Philatelic and Numismatic Marketing is based inside the Palace of the Governorate of the Vatican City State. It consists in one of the Economic Activities of the Directorate of the Economy and works with dedication and passion to promote, valorise and make Vatican philatelic and numismatic issues accessible worldwide. It represents the hub of their dissemination and valorisation at an international level.
This intense activity of cultural and symbolic diffusion finds its roots in a totally unique institutional context: the Vatican City State, which, although small in size and population, plays an extraordinary role of spiritual, cultural and diplomatic importance on the international scene. It is precisely thanks to its sovereignty, officially recognised with the Lateran Pacts of 11 February 1929, that the State has been able to equip itself with its own postal and monetary system. These instruments are essential not only to assert its independence, but also to express, through postage stamps and coins, its identity, its mission and its vision of the world.
Philatelic and numismatic marketing, as we know it today, is the result of a recent reform. It was established following a significant overhaul of the institutional structure introduced by the Law on the Government of Vatican City State of the 25th of November 2018, no. CCLXXIV, signed by the Supreme Pontiff and entered into force on the 7th of June 2019. This legislation redefined the organisation of the Governorate and the powers of its operational bodies. Until then, the agency officially responsible for issuing coins, medals and stamps, as well as managing services for collectors, was the Philatelic and Numismatic Office.
It was responsible for planning, designing and implementing the annual programme of issues, selling and distributing products, circulating Vatican coins and checking the authenticity of euro coins and stamps. With the new regulatory framework established by the aforementioned reform, the management of philatelic issues was entrusted to the Vatican Post Office, which took on the new name of Post and Philately Service. At the same time, numismatic activities, including thematic research, graphic design and coin production, have been entrusted to the State Mint, an agency of the State Accounting Office, under the direction of the Economy Department of Vatican City State. For the minting of coins, the Vatican Mint avails itself, as per established tradition, of the collaboration of the IPZS (State Printing Works and Mint).