| Coin | Ten Diners 2009 Life of Chopin - Warsaw 1849 |
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This crown-sized Ten Diners (10 D.) commemorative coin was issued as part of an eight-coin set commemorating the life of Frédéric Chopin, each highlighting a different period of his life.
Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic era who wrote primarily for solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown as a leading musician of his era, one whose "poetic genius was based on a professional technique that was without equal in his generation". 2009 marked 160 years since his death in 1849, while the next year marked the 200th anniversary of his birth in 1810 and was declared Worldwide Year of Chopin - 2010.
This coin is dedicated to the burial of his heart in Warsaw. In 1849, after a long and crippling illness, the composer died in Paris, where he was buried. As requested by Chopin, his sister Ludwika took his heart (which had been removed by his doctor Jean Cruveilhier and preserved in alcohol in a vase), back to Poland in 1850 where it is now encased in a stone pillar in the Holy Cross Church in Warsaw.
Inscriptions on the coin are in the Catalan language. It was issued in proof grade only. |
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| Obverse | |
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Surrounded by a plain rim, the obverse of the coin shows at its centre the Coat of Arms of the Principality of Andorra consisting of a shield divided quarterly by the arms of the Bishop of Urgell and the Count of Foix - who have historically been the two co-princes of Andorra - in addition to the emblems of Catalonia and the Viscount of Béarn.
The four traditional quarters are (clockwise from top left):
- that of the Bishopric of Urgell, represented by a mitre and a crosier (staff);
- that of Foix, with three vertical stripes;
- that of Béarn, represented by two cows with cow-bells around their necks, walking to left;
- that of Catalonia, with four vertical stripes.
The shield is surrounded by an "aureola". A scroll below it carries the Latin motto VIRTVS VNITA FORTIOR (in modern spelling: "Virtus Unita Fortior"), meaning "United virtue is stronger".
Around above, the inscription PRINCIPAT D' ANDORRA (Principality of Andorra).
Below, divided by the Coat of Arms, the value and denomination 10 D. (Ten Diners).
Around below, the date of issue 2009. |
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| Reverse | |
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Flanked by a five-line staff (musical lines) with G-clefs on each side, the reverse of the coin depicts the figure of Chopin on the left, and the stone pillar in which his heart is encased on the right, with an inscription in Polish.
Around above, in large letters, the name of the musician in Catalan: FRYDERYK CHOPIN; below that in smaller letters, EL COR - ESGLÉSIA DE LA SANTA CREU ("the heart - Church of the Holy Cross").
Around below, VARSÒVIA 1849 (Warsaw 1849). |
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| Reverse Inscription |
FRYDERYK CHOPIN VARSÒVIA 1849 |
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| Edge | Milled | Edge Inscription | None |
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| Included in Set |
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Frédéric Chopin Anniversary 1810 - 1849 (Life of Chopin), mintage 1,200, limited to 1,810
8 coins: 10 D. Warsaw 1821, 10 D. Vienna 1829, 10 D. Paris 1832, 10 D. Dresden 1836, 10 D. Mallorca 1838, 10 D. - Paris 1848, 10 D. - Paris 1849, 10 D. Warsaw 1849
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