Reverse In the central part is the Archangel Michael. To the right of his feet is the mintmark of the Rome mint: "R". To the left of the image is the denomination of 200 lire in 2 lines in Latin: "L. 200". Along the arc of the lower edge is an inscription in Italian: "CITTÀ DEL VATICANO" - "VATICAN CITY".
Obverse In the central part is a right-facing profile portrait of Pope John Paul II. Below the shoulder truncation are the artist's initials, Guido Veroi: "VEROI". In the left part, along the arc of the coin's edge, is an inscription of his name in Latin and the 8th year of his pontificate: "IOANNIS PAVLVS II P.M. AN. VIII". On the right is the year of minting in Roman numerals: "MCMLXXXVI".