Slovenia P-11 10 Tolarjev 1992 UNC uncirculated—Father of Slovenian language

You will receive a banknote of this design in Uncirculated condition. Serial numbers and series vary.

Color: Dark maroon, green

Front:

• Hand-engraved portrait of the Protestant Primož Trubar is the main motif on the front of the banknote. His profile silhouette is composed of microwriting.
• First page of Trubar's Abecedarium printed by the intaglio method,
• Writing quill

Watermark: Primož Trubar

Back:

• Color: dark maroon
• Ursuline Church in Ljubljana
• Excerpt from the Bible's New Testament printed by the intaglio method

Engravers: Miljenko Licul, Zvone Kosovelj, Rudi Španzel

Slovenia and the Euro (and the Tolar and the Dollar)

Slovenia launched its first own currency, the tolar in October 1991 (plural tolarjev). The word tolar, the same as dollar, is derived from the medieval coin the Thaler, which in turn was named after the city of Joachimsthal, where they were minted, in Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic. At first the tolar was pegged to the Deutsche mark at 32 tolarjev to the mark, around 51.5 tolarjev to the US dollar.

By 2007, the tolar was worth one fourth of its initial value in Deutsche marks, at 122.5 tolarjev to the mark. In that year, Slovenia adopted the euro and tolarjev were converted at 239.64 tolarjev to the euro.

Primož Trubar (1508–1586)

Trubar was a Protestant reformer and author, widely regarded as the father of the Slovenian literary language and a key figure in Slovenian national identity.

In addition to being commemorated on this 10 tolar note, he also appears on:

1 Euro Coin: He is the figure depicted on the national side of the Slovenian 1 euro coin.

2 Euro Commemorative Coin: In 2008, a special 2 euro coin was issued to mark the 500th anniversary of his birth.

Key Contributions:

• First Slovene Books: In 1550, he wrote the first two books ever printed in the Slovene language: Catechismus (a religious manual) and Abecedarium (an elementary reading book).
• Language Standardization: He chose the dialect of Ljubljana as the basis for the written language, which helped unify the various Slovene-speaking regions.
• Bible Translation: He was the first to translate parts of the Bible into Slovene, completing a translation of the entire New Testament by 1577.
• Protestant Leadership: As a follower of Martin Luther, he founded and led the Protestant Church in the Duchy of Carniola (modern-day Slovenia) before being forced into exile in Germany.

Despite Slovenia being a predominantly Catholic country today, Trubar is honored as a national hero. Every year on June 8, the country celebrates Primož Trubar Day to recognize his role in establishing their cultural and linguistic foundation.