2024 France €20 High Relief Silver Proof Coin - The Art of the Quill: Luis Vaz de Camoes

• Mint: Monnaie de Paris
• Denomination: €20
• Quality: Proof
• Issue limit: 3,000 pcs.
• Alloy: 99.9% Silver
• Diameter: 37 mm
• Weight: 22.2 grams
• Box/Capsule: Yes/Yes
• Certificate: Yes

Additional Information

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This issue honors Portugal's greatest poet, Luis Vaz de Camões, on the 500th anniversary of his birth.

Luis Vaz de Camões (1524-1580) is considered Portugal's and the Portuguese language's greatest poet. His mastery of verse has been compared to that of Shakespeare, Milton, Vondel, Homer, Virgil and Dante.

While he wrote many lyrical poems and dramas, he is best remembered for his epic work "Os Lusíadas (The Lusiads)."

The obverse shows Luís Vaz de Camões in profile surrounded by waves and sea. There are many symbols referring to his maritime adventures: his ruff and his hair turning into waves, the sailing ship on the horizon and the caravel on his right. This caravel is decorated with the Cross of the Order of Christ, symbol of the Portuguese nation, and an emblem made of a feather and a sword, evoking the sixteen years the author spent at sea and traveling in the Orient. His right eye, lost in battle in Morocco at the age of 23, is closed.

The reverse is common to the entire "Art of the Quill" series. Several iconic quotations can be read, such as Voltaire’s “Le mieux est l’ennemi du bien", Dante Alighieri’s "Lasciate ogne speranza voi ch'intrate", William Shakespeare’s "To be or not to be : that is the question" and Nietzsche’s "Was mich nicht umbringt, macht mich stärker". A feather is engraved in the center of the coin and underneath is the title of the series.