Vatican Philatelic and
Numismatic Museum

Vatican Philatelic and Numismatic Museum Aerogramme 1992 On May 15, 1992, Vatican City issued its annual aerogramme to celebrate the opening of the new Philatelic and Numismatic Museum at the Railway Station Building. As we will see, this was the second of three locations which has housed the Museum. The original Vatican Philatelic and Numismatic Museum was opened by Pope John Paul II in 1987. The first site was honored on two stamps, shown below (Scott 793 and 794). It was located in four rooms in the Borgia Tower. Five years later, as presented on the aerogramme, it moved to the Railway Station Building, situated along the Vatican’s southern wall. These sites did not provide easy access to the Museum and its holdings, and only offered limited hours of service. Vatican Philatelic and Numismatic Museum Scott 793-794 (1987) In 2007, the Museum moved to its current location. Although smaller in size when compared to its two predecessors, the current site offers many advantages to the philatelist. The Museum is now located within the Vatican Museum complex and is found between the Pope Pius XI Christian Museum and the Ethnological Missionary Museum. This allows for much easier access and expanded hours of service. In addition, it has three entrances, one being off a Vatican Post Office. Vatican City issued a 10-stamp sheetlet, consisting of two stamp images (Scott 1357a and 1357b) to honor the opening of the new Museum site: Vatican Philatelic and Numismatic Museum Scott 1357 a and b (2007) In researching this brief article, two of the references come from Vatican Notes articles written by two esteemed authors. The first is by Cheryl Ganz, the current president of the American Philatelic Society (APS). Ms. Ganz is a prolific philatelic author, exhibitor, and historian, as well as the Curator Emerita of the National Postal Museum in Washington. She has received numerous awards for her contributions to philately. The second article is by Daniel Piazza, who is the current curator of the National Postal Museum. He served as the editor of the Vatican Notes and has contributed many articles on a variety of topics. Both Cheryl and Daniel were honored in 2022 by Linn’s Stamp News as two of the world’s seventy-five Most Influential Philatelists. REFERENCES: Governatorato Vatican City: Philatelic Office, May 15, 1992, Aerogramme 1992 Cheryl Ganz, Vatican Notes, Volume 57, Number 341, pp. 12-13, 2009, A Visit to the Vatican's New Philatelic Museum Daniel Piazza, Vatican Notes, Volume 56, Number 1, page 24, 2007, New Vatican Philatelic and Numismatic Museum Vatican Philatelic Society website, www.vaticanstamps.org, Stamp Database Search