(reposting this due to problem with title)
(originally published to Bubblews writing site in 2013, now gone)
What was that guy’s name again? It seems that folk at the Vatican weren’t too sure. It minted 6000 coins to commemorate the first anniversary of Francis as pope and somehow misspelled Jesus’ name.
When the mold was being prepared, it seems that someone got J and L mixed up. The letter L is similar to a back-to-front J, and perhaps someone was looking at that part of the mold from upside down or sideways and got it mixed up.
Anyway, the mint kind of blamed the molders, but you’d think it would have checked the mold before minting. On the other hand, it probably thought it didn’t need to check as this seems to be the first mistake in 600 years of making papal medals.
The coins were recalled before many were sold but apparently four of them remain out there. They could soon be worth a lot of money.
