Central Bank Unveils Layout of Slovenian Euro Coins

The Finance Ministry and the central bank unveiled on Friday the layout of Slovenia's euro coins, which are due to become legal tender on 1 January 2007.

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10 november 2005

The Finance Ministry and the central bank unveiled on Friday the layout of Slovenia's euro coins, which are due to become legal tender on 1 January 2007. What mainly sets them apart from the euro coins of other countries is the inscription "Slovenija" running in the circle along the outer rim of the coin.

The two-euro coin will feature poet France Preseren, who is currently on the 1,000-tolar note, accompanied by a part of his manuscript of "Zdravljica" (A Toast), the Slovenian anthem. The one-euro coin will have Primoz Trubar, the author of the first printed book in Slovenian, who is currently on the 10-tolar note, and a line of text from his work.

The 50-cent coin will feature Triglav (2,864m), Slovenia's highest mountain, two Lipizzaner horses will adorn the 20-cent coin, and the 10-cent coin the blueprint for the never constructed parliament building as proposed by architect Joze Plecnik.

The five-cent coin will depict the famous painting Sejalec (Sower) by impressionist painter Ivan Grohar, the five-cent coin will feature the landmark Prince's Stone, where they installed Karantania dukes in the 6th century, while the smallest coin, for one cent, will have a depiction of a stork.

The national sides for the coins have been designed by Miljenko Licul, Maja Licul and Janez Boljka, whose proposals were selected by a panel of experts. Miljenko Licul is also the author of the tolar notes and coins currently in circulation.

According to Finance Minister Andrej Bajuk, the drafts have already been presented to the sub-committee for coins at the EU Council for Economic and Financial Affairs.

Mitja Gaspari, the governor of the Bank of Slovenia, estimates that 230 million coins will have to be minted, worth a total of 80 million euros. The mint will be selected in a public tender.

If everything goes according to plan, the Slovenian coins will join 61 billion euro coins currently in circulation. They will replace the 508 million tolar coins.

The Winning designs

Country Slovenia The stork is taken as a relief of the stork motif from the existing SIT 20 (author Janez Boljka). This princely stone is the ancient symbol of the hierarchical organization of power in the Slovenian consciousness. We propose presenting a relief of its actual condition today. The "sower of seeds" is a frequent motif used by many creative artists, primarily in the area of painting. With his vehement gesture he scatters his seeds, which when they float above the earth in elliptically curving paths give the impression of planetary bodies in their orbits. This is the moment that the sower of seeds draws closest to the creator. Plečnik's unrealised plans for the Slovenian Parliament demonstrate the architect's vision of the nation's future independence. The Lipizzaner is neither a racehorse nor a horse for war. He narcissistically shows his beauty at parades. He demonstrates his youthful and happy character with playfulness. For the coin we therefore propose two horses in a most beautiful pose: at play. Slovenians have looked to Triglav in all of our fateful historical moments. Above the three-peaked mountain remains the vastness of unbounded space, containing among many others the constellation Cancer, which is the sign of the Zodiac under which Slovenia achieved its independence. The representation of Triglav is envisioned as a relief. Writing was Trubar's tool: the recognizable, old, hand-made, slightly rough but nonetheless beautiful letters that shape the first printed Slovenian text. His typography forms the basis for spelling out the sentence STATI IN OBSTATI (Stand and Exist). His portrait is well known. The portrait is to be presented in relief on the coin. Prešern's image remains largely unknown, despite the great number of "well-known portraits". For that reason we have decided to put his handwriting on the coin, as a sure confirmation that it is authentic Prešern. We used the poet's silhouette in relief (after Dremelj's portrait) because it attests to the "poetic character" of these little-known representation in a contemporary manner.

Source:

Central Bank Unveils Layout of Slovenian Euro Coins

The Finance Ministry and the central bank unveiled on Friday the layout of Slovenia's euro coins, which are due to become legal tender on 1 January 2007.

Click to open link

Last update: 03-12-2005
by: Lex Liesemeijer
www.eurocoins.liesemeijer.com