New collector coins are entering circulation, commemorating the centenary of Prekmurje rejoining its homeland

On 12 August 2019, new 2019 collector coins will enter circulation: gold, silver and bi-coloured collector coins. The event marked with these collector coins is the centenary of  Prekmurje rejoining its homeland. The Banka Slovenije points out that the new coins will be available at the Banka Slovenije's cashier's desk on Štefanova ulica in Ljubljana and at selected branches of Deželna banka Slovenije.

By issuing the latest collector coins the Banka Slovenije seeks to add special weight to 17 August, the national holiday. On that day a hundred years ago the Yugoslav Army, which had occupied the Slovene regional territory of Prekmurje and Porabje on 12 August 1919 without shot being fired, handed over the territory to the civilian authorities. This reunited the Slovenes of Prekmurje with the rest of the nation, after eight centuries of Hungarian rule.

The subject, i.e. the centenary of Prekmurje rejoining its homeland, is depicted with a quote from Jožef Klekl the Elder, a writer and supporter of Slovene nationhood, from the 17 August 1919 issue of the local newspaper Novine: "Deca ste lüblene slovenske matere” (“You are children of the beloved Slovene mother”). This is interwoven with the figural depiction of a stork on the wing, flying from east to west and thereby symbolising event. The stork represents one of the more prominent symbols of Prekmurje, while also, as the designer of the image Matej Ramšak explains, representing rebirth and protection.

In recent years the Government of Slovenia in cooperation with the Banka Slovenije has issued collector coins once a year, to mark major political, historic, scientific, cultural, sports and humanitarian milestones. Last year we dedicated coins to the centenary of the end of the First World War, and the year before that to the centenary of the May Declaration. They are made of gold, silver, or other metals.

The latest collector coins were minted in following quantities: 500 gold, 1,500 silver and 51,000 bi-coloured collector coins, 1.000 of them in the proof technique and packaged in a plastic capsule. The coins were manufactured by the Italian mint Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato, which was selected in an international tender. They are available at the price of EUR 340 for the gold and EUR 50 for the silver coin. The bi-coloured coin is available at its nominal value of EUR 3. All the collector coins can of course be used as legal tender, at their nominal value of EUR 100 for the gold and EUR 30 for the silver coins. Collector coins are legal tender at their face value in Slovenia, but in other countries only have value as collectibles.

The Government, in cooperation with the Banka Slovenije, also issues commemorative coins that are legal tender in all countries of the euro area. This year they are expected to be issued in the fourth quarter and will mark the centenary of the founding of the University of Ljubljana.

More information on purchasing and prices are available here.