Papal States Vatican 20 Lire Gold Coin, Pope Pius IX, minted in 1869 (Year XXIV).
Reverse: Bust of Pope Pius IX left, wearing zucchetto, mozetta, and stole.
Legend: PIVS . IX . PON - M . A . XXIV § * §
Obverse: Denomination (20 LIRE) and date (1869) within wreath. Mint inital (R) of Rome below.
Mint Place: Rome (R)
Mintage: 76,000 pcs
Diameter: 21 mm
Weight: 6.42 gram of Gold (.900)
Pope Pius IX
Blessed Pope Pius IX (Latin: Pius IX; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878), born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, was Pope from 16 June 1846 to his death in 1878. He was the longest-reigning elected pope in the history of the Catholic Church — totalling nearly 32 years. During his pontificate, he convened the First Vatican Council (1869-1870), which decreed papal infallibility, but the council was cut short.
Pius IX defined the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, meaning that Mary was conceived without original sin. Pius IX also granted the Marian title of Our Mother of Perpetual Help, a famous Byzantine icon from Crete entrusted to the Redemptorist priests.
In addition to this, Pius IX was also the last pope to rule as the Sovereign of the Papal States, which fell completely to Italian nationalist armies in 1870 and were incorporated into the Kingdom of Italy. After this, he was referred to as the "Prisoner of the Vatican".
After his death in 1878, his canonization process (which opened on 11 February 1907) drew considerable controversy and was closed on at least one occasion, before Pope John Paul II proclaimed him Venerable on 6 July 1985. He was beatified on 3 September 2000 alongside Pope John XXIII, and was assigned the liturgical feast day of February 7, the date of his death.