Results of the public anonymous competition for the design of a silver 10-euro collector coin to commemorating the 250th anniversary of the birth of Chatam Sofer
First prize and the selected design
Pavel Károly
Second prize
Mgr. art. Miroslav Hric, ArtD
Third prize
Karol Ličko
In April 2011, Národná banka Slovenska announced a public anonymous competition for the design of a silver 10-euro collector coin to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the birth of Chatam Sofer, a distinguished Orthodox rabbi and scholar respected by the Jewish community all over the world. Twenty-four designs by eighteen authors were entered in the competition. In June 2011, they were assessed by the NBS Governor’s Committee for the Assessment of Designs for Slovak Euro Coins. The expert advisors to the Committee were PhDr. Martin Korčok, PhD, a deputy director of the Slovak National Museum – Museum of Jewish Culture, and PhDr. Peter Salner, chairman of the Jewish religious community in Bratislava.
The design approved for the coin, and the winner of first prize in the competition, was made by Pavol Károly. The Committee acknowledged that his design satisfied all the required criteria for content and artwork. The obverse and the reverse designs are each set in a triangular area, and the two triangles are positioned in such a way that they jointly indicate a Star of David. The obverse side features a historical vista of Bratislava with a detailed relief of Bratislava castle. The reverse side features a portrait of Chatam Sofer together with the Torah and a menorah, a traditional seven-branched candelabrum. The design is notable for the contrast between the raised triangular areas and the rest of the field containing the text and state emblem, altogether forming a harmonic composition.
Second prize was awarded to Mgr. art. Miroslav Hric, Art.D., for a balanced design that clearly depicts the theme. The obverse side of the coin features a relief of a historical vista of Bratislava accompanied by an unwound Torah scroll, with the country name and state emblem well incorporated in the design. The main feature of the reverse side is a portrait of Chatam Sofer set in the relief depiction of a book, symbolising his scholarship, philosophy and personality.
Third prize was awarded to Karol Ličko. His design was noted by the Committee especially for its portrait inventively placed inside a Star of David, which is the main feature of the reverse side. The placement of inscriptions forms an integral part of the composition of both sides of the design.