1,950th Anniversary of the Martyrdom of Saints Peter and Paul

Saints Peter and Paul with their respective symbols — the keys and the sword; the inscription '1950° DEL MARTIRIO DEI SANTI PIETRO E PAOLO', the state name 'CITTÀ DEL VATICANO', the year '2017', the name of designer Gabriella Titotto, the initials of engraver Claudia Momoni, and the mint mark 'R'.

Peter and Paul are regarded as the two central apostles of early Christianity, whose work fundamentally shaped the development of the Church. Peter, originally a fisherman on the Sea of Galilee, was declared by Jesus to be the rock of the community and is considered in Catholic tradition to be the first Bishop of Rome. Paul, who as Saul had initially persecuted the young Christian community, experienced a radical turn after his conversion on the road to Damascus: he became the most significant missionary of antiquity, carrying Christianity far beyond the Jewish cultural sphere into the Greco-Roman world. Both were executed in Rome under Emperor Nero, probably around the year 67 AD — Peter, according to tradition, by crucifixion upside down, and Paul by beheading.

As the place of their martyrdom and burial, Rome remains to this day the spiritual centre of Catholicism. St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican is traditionally said to rise directly above the apostle Peter's tomb; San Paolo fuori le Mura, in what is now the city of Rome, venerates the tomb of Paul. Both sites have attracted millions of pilgrims for centuries and shape the Holy See's self-understanding as an apostolic see. With the 2017 2-euro commemorative coin, the Vatican marks the 1,950th anniversary of this martyrdom — a date that stands symbolically in Church memory for the founding moment of the Roman Church.