200 euro - The Archangels: Raphael

The Vatican State Mint dedicates this year’s 200 Euro gold coin to the Archangel Raphael, concluding the three-year cycle dedicated to the Archangels. Our artist Gabriella Titotto has depicted Raphael with young Tobias and his faithful dog and a fish. At the top we see the Latin inscription: “Deus sanat” (God heals). The name Raphael in ancient Hebrew actually means “God heals”. Raphael is the angel of health and patron saint of engaged couples and spouses, pharmacists, ophthalmologists, and travelers. In religious iconography he is often depicted together with a fish and a jar of medicines. Raphael appears for the first time in the Book of Tobit in the Old Testament of the Catholic Bible under the name of Azariah (he who helps). The Archangel accompanies young Tobias, sent by his blind father to make a long journey, during which, on the advice of Archangel Raphael, the young man seized a huge fish from which he extracted the gall, heart and liver. He meets and marries Sarah, who is freed from the devil thanks to the entrails of the fish. Upon returning home, Tobias applies the gall on the eyes of his father who recovers his sight. Only at the end of the book will Raphael reveal his angelic nature.