On November 28, 1955, the Vatican Postal Administration released a set of three commemoratives to mark the 500th anniversary of the death of Pope Nicholas V.
The stamps were designed by Edmondo Pizzi and feature details from Fra Angelico's fresco "The Farewell of St. Lawrence," which is part of the Vatican collection.
The stamps were printed by photogravure in sheets of 50 (10 X 5) at the State Printing Office at Rome. The sheets are watermarked with the Crossed Keys, and in the left margin is the inscription, (translated from Italian) "ONE SHEET OF FIFTY STAMPS VALUE L.___". The effigy of Nicholas V and the inscriptions on the stamps are in sepia. The background color of the 20-lire stamp is light blue, the 35-lire stamp is pale rose, and the 60-lire stamp is emerald green.
