On May 7, 1985, Vatican City issued a series of three stamps to commemorate the 450th anniversary of the martyrdom of St. Thomas More.
Antonello Ciaburro engraved the stamp designs. On the left side of all three values appears a picture of St. Thomas More taken from a portrait by Hans Holbein the Younger. Above this picture appear the words POSTE VATICANE. At the center of each stamp is the inscription SAN TOMMASO MORO (1535-1985). The denomination appears in the lower right corner. Each value features a different subject on its right side.
The 2,000-lire stamp reproduces the title page of Domenico Rgei's "Life and Works of St. Thomas More," printed by Antonio Malatesta in Milan in 1675 and preserved in the Vatican Apostolic Library.
Historians generally regard More as one of the most remarkable figures of the sixteenth century. He was a prominent English lawyer, noted scholar, theologian, historian, diplomat, and eventually a royal official. King Henry VIII found him guilty of treason and beheaded him on July 6, 1535. His deep religious faith and strong personal convictions ultimately earned him sainthood. Pope Pius XI (1857-1939) canonized Thomas More on May 19, 1935. More is the patron saint of both Catholic lawyers and university students. Catholics celebrate his feast day on June 22.
The stamps are horizontal, measure 40 x 30 mm, and have a perforation of 14 x 13 1/4. The Italian State Polygraphic Institute and Mint printed 850,000 complete series on white chalky paper in multicolor offset and recess print. They were issued in sheets of twenty.
