Some 85,000 units of the collector’s coin will be produced, World Youth Day organizers said.
The reverse of the coin shows Cologne Cathedral, and above it is the star of Bethlehem with a comet’s tail, which guided the wise men. It includes the inscription in Italian «XX Giornata Mondiale della Gioventu.» The design is by sculptress Daniela Longo.
The face of the coin reads «Città del Vaticano» (Vatican City), and around it are the 12 stars of the European Union. The date is 2005 and the place is indicated with the letter «R» for Rome.
The World Youth Day Office in Cologne said it will not be offering the coins.
The theme of the August event is «We Have Come to Worship Him.»
This is «a theme that enables young people from each continent to follow ideally the itinerary of the Wise Kings, whose relics, according to a pious tradition, are venerated precisely» in Cologne «and, like them, to meet the Messiah of all nations,» said Pope John Paul II in a message in preparation for the event.
