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5 Euros Jean de la Fontaine
| Issuer | Monnaie de Paris |
|---|---|
| Year | 2021 |
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| Currency | Euro (2002-date) |
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| Obverse description | The obverse features a large quill feather pen rendered in fine relief, dominating the upper right portion of the field in an elegant diagonal composition symbolic of literary art. Inscribed in cursive script across the left and lower field are five famous literary quotations in four languages: French, Italian, English, and German, referencing Voltaire, Dante, Shakespeare, and Nietzsche respectively. In the lower right, the inscription L'ART DE LA PLUME appears in flowing cursive lettering, accompanied by the denomination 5 € and the RF monogram denoting the French Republic. The Monnaie de Paris mint mark and a cornucopia privy mark are visible to the right of the denomination. The overall design evokes the art of writing and literature through an artistically stylized, contemporary engraving style. |
|---|---|
| Obverse script | Latin (cursive) |
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| Reverse description | The reverse presents a richly detailed portrait of Jean de La Fontaine, the celebrated 17th-century French fabulist, depicted in left-facing profile with long flowing hair characteristic of the Louis XIV era. Surrounding his effigy is a lively montage of animals drawn from his famous Fables, including an ox, a frog, a stork, a fox, a crow, and a tortoise, rendered in high relief with expressive, almost caricatural detail. In the lower field, a classical French baroque palace facade is depicted in fine engraving, evoking the architectural grandeur of La Fontaine's epoch. The inscription JEAN DE LA FONTAINE appears in cursive script to the upper right, flanked by his birth and death years 1621 and 1695, with the issue year 2021 visible at the lower left. The composition celebrates the 400th anniversary of La Fontaine's birth through an imaginative and narrative design style. |
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