Francis Year One in Silver

harasha

Note the nose high point. This appears to be a problem with the high points, as noted in my prior post.

Iosephus

It's too bad about the high points, but nice medal overall. I like Pope Francis's pleasant look on it.

Swampboy

<< <i>It's too bad about the high points, but nice medal overall. I like Pope Francis's pleasant look on it. >>



Interesting finish on this piece. It looks textured.

harasha

Matte finish?

STLNATS

<< <i>Matte finish? >>



A number of Benedict's medals also used this matte or satin type finish and actually now that I look examples can be found back to a few examples for Paul VI and subsequent popes as well. Here's a typical recent example:



It might just be aesthetics but the finish probably also doesn't show minor imperfections and may be easier to produce that the lustrous, proof like surface that was the most commonly used for most of the 20th century.

worldcoinguy

The reverse is a beautiful design. The combination of the flowing robes and cobblestone street is very appealing.

NiceCurrency

Who is the earliest pope that had a coin issued during his lifetime?

STLNATS

<< <i>Who is the earliest pope that had a coin issued during his lifetime? >>



You have something of a choice. According to Berman, the majority consensus is that Gregory III (731-741) was the first pope to issue coinage with an indication of own name. These early issues were under Byzantine authority and Hadrian I (772-795) was the first to issue coins independent of the empire. The definitive Muntoni catalog starts with Hadrian.

Weiss

Isn't this the medal that had Jesus misspelled Lesus?

STLNATS

<< <i>Isn't this the medal that had Jesus misspelled Lesus? >>



Yes, that shown is the corrected version. What's still unclear is how many of each variety have been distributed. There was a story about that there were fewer of the corrected version but I've not seen confirmation or any sort of official numbers/estimates.