CNG 87, Lot: 2172. Estimate $3500. Sold for $3750. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

ITALY, Papale (Stato della Città del Vaticano). Paulus VI (Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini). 1963-1978. AV Medal (45mm, 73 g, 12h). Commemorating the Pope’s Visit to the Holy Land. By V. Lorioli and E. Varisco. Dated 1964 in Roman numerals. Busts of Paulus, wearing zucchetto and mantum, and King Hussein of Jordan, in civic attire, facing one another; pellet to left and right; legend in Arabic above; below, HASCEMITICUM JORDANIAE REGNUM (the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan) / IN NOMINE DOMINI TERRAM SANCTAM ADVENIENTE (star) ANNO MCMLXIV (star) (travels to the Holy Land in the name of the Lord), views of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Dome of the Rock separated by olive branch and stump. EF, occasional scratches, most notably on the obverse around 3h and on the cheek of Hussein.

Pope Paul VI (nicknamed the “Pilgrim Pope” for his unprecedented traveling) made a brief but historic visit to Jordan and Israel between January 4-6, 1964, the first such papal pilgrimage to Palestine. The aim of the trip was to open dialogue between the Catholic Church and other faiths and marked a turning point in healing relations between the Catholic and Orthodox Churches. During the visit Paul met with Patriarch Athenagoras I of Constantinople, the first meeting between the heads of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches since 1438.