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10041356640000

jean de la fontaine - 400th anniversary of his birth
20€ Silver Coin High Relief - Yeardate 2021

€145.00
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Diameter 37 mm
Metal SILVER 999‰
Weight 31.1 g
Qualité Proof
La qualité "Belle Épreuve" est la plus haute qualité numismatique devant les qualités "Brillant Universel" (BU) et "courante". Une pièce belle épreuve est une pièce obtenue au moyen de coins et de flans spécialement préparés et de conditions de frappe particulières, de sorte que les motifs de gravure ressortent avec une grande netteté et que la surface est sans défaut. Les fonds de la gravure sont extrêmement brillants, les reliefs sont matés.
Mintage 3000
Millésime 2021
Valeur faciale 20€
In 2021, Monnaie de Paris is inaugurating a new series based on literary styles and authors who have marked the history of literature in France and abroad.On the occasion of the 400th anniversary of his birth, Monnaie de Paris pays tribute to Jean...
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jean de la fontaine - 400th anniversary of his birth 20€ Silver Coin High Relief Yeardate 2021
€145.00

    Description

    In 2021, Monnaie de Paris is inaugurating a new series based on literary styles and authors who have marked the history of literature in France and abroad.

    On the occasion of the 400th anniversary of his birth, Monnaie de Paris pays tribute to Jean de La Fontaine, the greatest French fabulist and member of the Académie française.

    Through his texts, Jean de la Fontaine still fascinates us today by using animals to represent the great traits of human character. Dedicated to the Dauphin Louis of France, Jean de la Fontaine leaves us a literary legacy of more than 250 fables as well as numerous collections of stories and poems.

    On this side, the portrait of Jean de La Fontaine, the most famous French fabulist, is shown in profile. In the background, some of the animals in his famous fables blend in with his hair: the frog and the ox, the stork, the wolf, the raven and the fox, the cicada and the ant and finally the turtle. We discover them little by little like a visual trick.

    We can also see the castle of Vaux-le-Vicomte, a reference to his friendship with Nicolas Fouquet, the owner of the castle at the time. His dates and the name of Jean de La Fontaine, as well as the coat of arms of Château-Thierry, his birthplace where he spent part of his life and which inspired the animals in his fables, are engraved to the right of the drawing.Thisdesign in High Relief allow to highlight the author's profile.

    The reverse side is common to the entire "Art of the Pen" series.

    Several emblematic quotations are inscribed on it, such as Voltaire’s “Le mieux est l’ennemi du bien", Dane Alighieri's "Lasciate ogne speranza voi ch'intrate", William Shakespeare's "To be or not to be: that is the question" or Nietzsche's "Was mich nicht umbringt, macht mich stärker". A feather is engraved in the center of the coin and underneath the title of the serie.

    The mention "RF" is designed at the bottom right of the coin as well as the hallmark of Joaquin Jimenez.

    The Collection

    In 2021 Monnaie de Paris inaugurates a new series around literary styles and authors that have marked history in France and abroad. This year, poetry is celebrated with two authors who have marked this literary style: Dante Alighieri and Jean de la Fontaine.

    To evoke Dante is an incredible thing. His work is a powerful powerful allegory of spirituality and a true initiatory rite in itself. I had to evoke this aspect with a cosmogonic representation of heaven, purgatory and hell. For the 400th anniversary of Jean de La Fontaine's birth, I wanted to transcribe his art of metaphor and the second degree on metal work.

    Engraver word
    Dante Alighieri
    Jean de la Fontaine

    Our craftman

    • THE ENGRAVER

      Trained at the best schools, they have the years of experience behind them necessary to master all aspects of the craft. Using industrial oil-based modelling clay and working from a design executed freehand or with CAD software, they skilfully fashion a low relief model in order to enhance the engraving and the way it catches the light. They work alternately with concave and convex plaster moulds until satisfied they have achieved the best 3D rendering of the design.

    • THE MINTER

      The first minters began to ply their trade in France when striking with a hammer appeared in the 4th century BC. Nowdays, minsters use press instead of a hammer. Their knowledge of dies, engraving and metals, and their expertise - passed seamlessly down from one generation to the next for centuries - guarantees the excellence of their work.

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