Slovenia: post-Yugoslav coinage

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Reverse of the 20 tolarjev coin.

The reverse design of the 20 tolarjev coin featured a white stork.

Like the horse on the 10 tolarjev coin, the stork was shown in an expressionistic style.

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White stork.

The white stork (Ciconia ciconia) is a large bird in the stork family, Ciconiidae. Its plumage is mainly white, with black on the bird's wings. Adults have long red legs and long pointed red beaks, and measure on average 100–115 cm (39–45 in) from beak tip to end of tail, with a 155–215 cm (61–85 in) wingspan.

The white stork is a long-distance migrant, wintering in Africa from tropical Sub-Saharan Africa to as far south as South Africa, or on the Indian subcontinent. When migrating between Europe and Africa, it avoids crossing the Mediterranean Sea and detours via the Levant in the east or the Strait of Gibraltar in the west, because the air thermals on which it depends for soaring do not form over water.

A carnivore, the white stork eats a wide range of animal prey, including insects, fish, amphibians, reptiles, small mammals and small birds. It takes most of its food from the ground, among low vegetation, and from shallow water. It is a monogamous breeder but does not pair for life. Both members of the pair build a large stick nest, which may be used for several years.

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Obverse of the 50 tolarjev coin.

The copper-nickel 50 tolarjev coin was also issued in 2003.

It was the highest denomination of the series.


No new denominations were issued after this.

The style of the obverse was similar to that of the 20 tolarjev coin.

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Reverse of the 50 tolarjev coin.

The reverse design of the 50 tolarjev coin featured a bull.

Like the horse and the stork, the bull was shown in an expressionistic style.

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SIZES AND METALS

The 1 tolar, 2 tolarja and 5 tolarjev coins had a diameter of 22 mm, 24 mm and 26 mm respectively.

They each had a thickness of 1.7 mm.


Interestingly, the 10, 20 and 50 tolarjev coins also had a diameter of 22 mm, 24 mm and 26 mm respectively.

They each had a thickness of 2 mm.


These two tiers of coins were made of different metals, nickel-brass versus copper-nickel.

However, I do wonder whether these similar sizes ever caused confusion.

I regard this as a weak point of the set.

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ADOPTION OF THE EURO

On 1 January 2007 Slovenia adopted the euro.

It was now an official member of the eurozone.

Slovenia issues its own euro coins.

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Thematic design continuity.

The 1 euro cent coin features the stork from the 20 tolarjev coin.

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CONCLUSION

The designs of the Slovenian tolar series were among the most original and charming of all wildlife coin series.

This ends my topic.

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The coins of the original 1992 series, shown together.