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Results of the public competition for the design of a €20 silver collector coin featuring the Heritage Site of Levoča and the 500th anniversary of the high altarpiece in St James’s Church

Reduced first prize and the selected design
Pavol Károly

Reduced first prize and the selected design Reduced first prize and the selected design

Reduced first prize
Karol Ličko

Reduced first prize Reduced first prize

Third prize
Michal Gavula

Third prize Third prize

In March 2016 Národná banka Slovenska (NBS) announced a public competition for the design of a €20 silver collector coin featuring the Heritage Site of Levoča, a small town in eastern Slovakia, and the 500th anniversary of the high altarpiece at St James’s Church in Levoča. A total of eleven designs by twelve designers were entered in the competition (including one co-designed by two people). In May 2016 they were evaluated anonymously by the Committee for the Assessment of Commemorative and Collector Coin Designs, which was assisted in its task by three expert advisers: Ľubica Pinčíková and Antónia Jacková from the Monuments Board of the Slovak Republic, and Kamil Tomčofčík representing Levoča town.

The Committee recommended a design by Karol Ličko for the coin, praising its artistry and content, the balanced composition of each side, and how it captured the assigned theme. The obverse side depicts St James’s decapitation, one of the scenes carved on the high altarpiece at St James’s Church in Levoča. The reverse side shows the figure of St James, the patron saint of Levoča, in the foreground. In the background is a Gothic arch framing a view that contains the steeple of St James’s Church and part of the Renaissance-style Old Town Hall.

Exercising his right under the terms of the competition, the NBS Governor set aside the Committee’s recommendation of Mr Ličko’s design and, acting on a recommendation of the NBS Bank Board, approved a design by Pavol Károly for the coin. The reverse side of this design is well-balanced in its composition, with high-quality modelling that finely captures the Heritage Site. The obverse side depicts the three central figures carved in the altarpiece of St James’s Church, but here they are shown only partly finished, as if emerging from blocks of wood. In this way the designer shows what the altarpiece is made of and how it was made. Inscribed in the wooden block of the left-hand figure are the year when the altarpiece was finished and the signature mark of the carver, Master Paul. The reverse design depicts part of St James’s Church and the Old Town Hall (including tower). Set behind the buildings is a Gothic window with a trefoil shown at the top and decorations from the altarpiece at the bottom. In the left of the design is the town’s coat of arms.

The designs of Mr Ličko and Mr Karoly each won a reduced first prize. No second prize was awarded.

Third prize went to a design by Michal Gavula. The Committee appreciated the design for its fine representation of the theme and for successfully linking the relief motifs and lettering. In the lower part of the obverse side is a depiction of the Last Supper, based on the scene carved into the predella of the high altarpiece in St James’s Church. In the background are the steeple of the church and tower of the Old Town Hall in Levoča. The obverse shows architectural landmarks of the Heritage Site, from left to right: the Protestant church, the old Minorite church, the new Minorite church, and the Košice Gate (including a view of old town houses). At the base of the design is the town’s coat of arms.

Additional prizes were awarded to Mária Poldaufová, Imrich Svitana and Andrea Ličková in recognition of the high quality of their designs.