Obverse. Photo © NumisCorner.com
  • 2 Euro 2011, KM# 303, Netherlands, Beatrix, 500th Anniversary of 'In Praise of Folly' by Erasmus
  • 2 Euro 2011, KM# 303, Netherlands, Beatrix, 500th Anniversary of 'In Praise of Folly' by Erasmus
Description

Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (1466–1536), known as Erasmus or Erasmus of Rotterdam, was a Netherlandish Renaissance humanist, Catholic priest, social critic, teacher, and theologian.

In Praise of Folly (sometimes translated as In Praise of More) is an essay written in Latin in 1509 by Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam and first printed in 1511. Inspired by Italian humanist Faustino Perisauli's De Triumpho Stultitiae, it is a satirical attack on superstitions and other traditions of European society as well as on the western Church.

Erasmus revised and extended the work, which he originally wrote in the space of a week while sojourning with Sir Thomas More at More's estate in Bucklersbury. In Praise of Folly is considered one of the most notable works of the Renaissance and played an important role in the beginnings of the Protestant Reformation.

Obverse

Depicts Erasmus writing his book and the effigy of Beatrix of the Netherlands. Between these two images, the inscription Beatrix Queen of Netherlands, the year mark, the mint master mark and the mintmark appear. The outer ring contains the twelve stars of the European Union.

Beatrix (born 31 January 1938) reigned as Queen of the Netherlands from 1980 until her abdication in 2013, after a reign of exactly 33 years. In 1966, Beatrix married Claus von Amsberg, a German diplomat, with whom she had three children. Beatrix's reign saw the country's Caribbean possessions reshaped with Aruba's secession and becoming its own constituent country within the Kingdom in 1986 as well as the subsequent Antillean Dissolution in 2010, which created the new special municipalities of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba, and the two new constituent countries of Curaçao and Sint Maarten. On Koninginnedag (Queen's Day), 30 April 2013, Beatrix abdicated in favour of her eldest son, Willem-Alexander, and resumed the title of princess.

Mint mark: Caduceus (Mercury's wand, a short staff entwined by two serpents, sometimes surmounted by wings), the logo of the Royal Dutch Mint (Utrecht, the Netherlands)

Mint master marks: Sailboat (Maarten Brouwer)

Engraver: Dylan Shields

Beatrix Koningin der Nederlanden
2011

Reverse

A geographical map of Western Europe spans the outer ring and inner core on the right side of the coin. The inscription 2 EURO is superimposed over the map of Europe, with the numeral “2” located in an open field representing the eastern Atlantic Ocean.

12 stars are located on the right side of the outer ring, with six stars atop the map of Europe and six stars below it; six vertical stripes cut across the inner core of the coin, visually connecting the upper and lower star segments.

Luc Luycx, a designer at the Royal Belgian Mint, designed the Euro’s common reverse; his initials, LL, are seen on the right side of the design, just under the “O” in “EURO.”

2 EURO
LL

Edge

GOD BE WITH US in Dutch. The same lettering had been applied to the larger denomination guilder coins

GOD ★ ZIJ ★ MET ★ ONS ★

2 Euro

500th Anniversary of 'In Praise of Folly' by Erasmus

KM# 303 Schön# 181
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Characteristics
Type Commemorative Issue (Circulating)
Material Bi-Metallic
Ring Cupronickel
Center Nickel Brass
Weight 8.5 g
Diameter 25.75 mm
Thickness 2.2 mm
Shape round
Alignment Medal
Mint
Royal Dutch Mint (KNM)

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