The central part of the coin features a symbolic and stylized geographical representation of the Republic of Croatia. Croatia's distinctive and recognisable geographical shape reflects both its geographical features and its historical circumstances. Croatia geographically stretches from the vast Pannonian Plain, over the Dinaric range to the Adriatic Coast, one of the most indented coastlines in the world, and a multitude of islands. One half of the Croatian territory is in the Pannonian region, one third in the coastal Adriatic region and the remaining part is in the mountainous Dinaric region. To achieve harmony of the coin design, featuring behind the geographical map is strict regularity of the Croatian checkerboard, the part of the coat of arms of the Republic of Croatia, which is in contrast to the very ‘organic’ borders, with the year of issuance integrated in the central part to the right. At the bottom to the left, positioned in the same line as the image of the geographical map, is the inscription of the issuing country. The edge lettering of the coin features the most beautiful verses from the Hymn to Freedom ‘O lijepa, o draga, o slatka slobodo’ (‘Oh beautiful, oh dear, oh sweet freedom’), which is an integral part of the pastoral play ‘Dubravka’ by the 17th century writer Ivan Gundulić. |
