Coin French Mint 10 Euros Silver BE 2021 - Jean de la Fontaine - L'Art de la Plume 2021

In 2021, the Monnaie de Paris inaugurates a new series focusing on literary styles and authors who have left their mark on the history of literature in France and abroad. Each year, a literary style such as poetry, the novel, philosophical essays, or theater will be highlighted. Both a French and a foreign author who have influenced the literary style honored that year will be celebrated.

On this side, the profile portrait of Jean de La Fontaine, the most famous of French fabulists, is depicted. In the background, some animals from his famous fables blend into the scenery and intertwine with his hair: the frog and the ox, the stork, the wolf, the crow and the fox, the cicada and the ant, and finally the tortoise. They are gradually discovered like an optical illusion.

Also visible on the coin is the Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte, a nod to La Fontaine's friendship with Nicolas Fouquet, the then owner of the castle. 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 him with the animals of his fables, are engraved to the right of the design.

The reverse side is common to the entire series "The Art of the Pen." Several emblematic quotations are inscribed, such as "The best is the enemy of the good" by Voltaire, "Lasciate ogne speranza voi ch’intrate" by Dante Alighieri, "To be or not to be: that is the question" by William Shakespeare, or "What does not kill me makes me stronger" by Nietzsche. A quill is engraved in the center of the coin. Below it is the title of the series. The mention "RF" is present at the bottom right of the coin, as well as the hallmark of Joaquin Jimenez and the engraving workshop