The silver coin was issued to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Maurice Maeterlinck's greatest contemporary success:
L'Oiseau Bleu, written in 1908. Maurice was a Belgian poet, playwright, and essayist writing in French. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1911.
The coin features on its obverse the image of the blue bird spreading its wings and leaving the confines of its cage for freedom.
The unusual aspect of this coin is that the bird itself is actually colored in blue (as in the name of the play).
Above the bird are the years signifying the 100th anniversary of the Blue Bird play, 1908–2008, and above that is the emblem for the Europa series.
In a semicircle around the top rim of the coin is the name of Maurice Maeterlinck, while around the bottom are the words, in French and Dutch respectively, for The Blue Bird.
The reverse shows a clear view of all the countries of the Eurozone, surrounded by the word "Belgium" in the three official languages and the face value of 10 euro.
Date of Issue: 2008
Diameter: 33 mm.
Thickness:
Metal: Ag 925
Weight: 18.75g.
Issuing volume: 20.000
Designer: Luc Luycx.
- Model: EUR BEL 2008
- Brand/Manufactured by: [Euro coins]
