The Philatelic and Numismatic Museum collects all the stamps and coins of the Vatican City, from the time of its birth (1929) to the present day; it also houses a vast philatelic collection of the former Papal State, with some rarities.
The museum is divided into two sections:
– Philatelic section, includes: philatelic issues divided by periods of pontificate (from Pius XII to Benedict XVI); postcards and airbrushes; issues of the Papal States (1852-1870), with new, cancelled and stamped " stamps; travelled " stamps; showcases containing plates, cylinders, plates, etc. and other typographic material used for the intaglio printing of the stamps; and also some sketches from which the stamps were obtained are displayed on the walls;
– Numismatics section, which includes: coins from 1929 to 2001; commemorative coins from 1979 to 2001; coins after 2001 in Euro; coins of the Holy Year; coins and stamps issued during the Sede vacante.
The entrance ticket to the Vatican Museums entitles you to visit the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel for the day of issue only and allows you to visit, within the next 5 days (including the day of issue), the Historical Museum and the Noble Apartment of the Lateran Apostolic Palace in Piazza S. Giovanni in Laterano.
