30 Euros Valentin Vodnik

Valentin Vodnik was the first Slovenian-language newspaper editor, founding Lublanske novice in 1797, and spent much of his career navigating the competing pressures of Habsburg censorship and the brief Napoleonic reorganization of the region into the Illyrian Provinces — under which he actually flourished, writing a grammar of Slovenian intended for use in French-administered schools. This coin was issued the year before Slovenia adopted the euro, making it one of the final commemorative tolar-era pieces the Bank of Slovenia would authorize.