Papal Annual Medals. Comment And Question.

@roma, that is very nice, especially the rev showing the basilica and the papal apartments (I think—pls correct me if I'm wrong).

Most of my collection focus is on older, smaller silver coins and without access to infinite piles of money I'm forced to make hard decisions about what to add to my collection. 20th Century medals just don't make the cut, although these and Swiss Shooting Thalers would be near the top targets for me.

The medal shows the Basilica in Loreto (Basilica della Santa Casa di Maria, or Basilica of the Holy House of the Virgin Mary) and the Basilica in Assisi. The text on the medal refers to (the pope's) pilgrimage to the basilicas in Loreto and Assisi in conjunction with the Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican 1962.

It is a nice medal, attractive toning - I can understand that you fell for it. For me, I enjoy looking at medals, like this one, but I have no interest in collecting them. I cannot provide a rationale for why not - it's just not my thing.

Just sold my collection at HA.com last year and many more are going up in the next few months. There is little collector interest except for the silver ones. The bronze are just as wonderful as the silver. Many of the medals are done by the engravers of the Italian Mint. I just had too many and had to get rid of some of the collection. I regret it somewhat, but I did do very well in the auctions. You can check HA.com for past prices