2006 Slovenia 500t UNC "Anton Tomaz Linhart"

• Mint: Mint Kremnica, Slovakia
• Denomination: 500 Tolar
• Quality: Uncirculated
• Issue limit: 100,000 pcs.
• Alloy: Bi-Metal Base Metal
• Diameter: 28 mm
• Weight: 9 grams
• Artist: Maja Licul and Miljenko Licul
• Box/Capsule: No/No
• Certificate: No

Issued on February 6, 2006, this is the last 500 Tolar commemorative circulating issued coin in national, Slovenian currency before the introduction of the euro on January 1, 2007. The issue commemorates the 250th anniversary of the birth of playwright Anton Tomaz Linhart.

Anton Tomaz Linhart was born in Radovljica on December 11, 1756 and attended schools in Ljubljana and Vienna. After completing his schooling he found work first as an archivist, and later as a school commissioner for the Ljubljana district. As such, he worked to establish a central library for public study in Ljubljana, which essentially became the predecessor to the national and university library.

Linhart was the first Slovenian playwright to adapt and translate a German comedy into Slovene, naming it "Micka, the Daughter of a Mayor". It was the first secular play in Slovene, debuting on December 28, 1789, and this date is considered the birth of Slovenian theatre. With his historic work in two parts "An Attempt at the History of Carniola" and "Other Lands of the South Slavs of Austria", he was the first to study and deal with the history of the Slovenes as a nation.

Linhart was the most important figure in the awakening of Slovenian national consciousness, the most consistent free-thinker and Enlightenment figure, and the first bourgeois in Slovenian culture. Through his work and his images he encouraged the development of dramatic literature in Slovene and made the first attempts at a scientific historiography. He also deserves credit for his work in education and librarianship.

Linhart died in Ljubljana on July 14, 1795.

The design of the coin shows an outlined image of Linhart, and the years of his birth and death.