Krista Bendová (1923 – 1988) was an author of humorous children’s poetry and prose that provides a child’s-eye view of the world. She ranks among the most outstanding Slovak children’s authors of the modern post-war period. Despite showing a certain divergence in values, her works have a timeless quality that has ensured they continue to be reprinted and are translated into many languages. Humour and fantasy gradually came to be the dominant characteristics of her work. She drew themes from children’s everyday life, with the child hero becoming both the channel and measure of her lyrical narrative. Bendová’s iconic books Bola raz jedna trieda (‘Once there was a class’) and Opice z našej police (‘The monkeys on our shelf’), along with a series of children’s stories featuring the character ‘Osmijanko’, belong to the canon of Slovak children’s literature and show the author developing a modern, parodistic style of fairy tale.
Obverse:
The obverse design references the title of one of Krista Bendová’s books, Opice z našej police (‘The monkeys on our shelf’), depicting three monkeys on or in front of three bookshelves. In the lower left of the design is the Slovak coat of arms, and on the right side are the coin’s denomination ‘10’ and currency ‘EURO’, one above the other. Inscribed along the upper edge are the name of the issuing country ‘SLOVENSKO’ and the year of issuance ‘2023’. The stylised initials ‘KL’ appear in the centre of the design, referring to the obverse side’s designer Karol Ličko.
Reverse:
The reverse shows a portrait of Krista Bendová and an open book in the left background with the visage overlying its right page. The drawing on the left page references Bendová’s book Bola raz jedna trieda (‘Once there was a class’). Inscribed along the lower edge are the author’s name ‘KRISTA BENDOVÁ’ and the dates of her birth and death ‘1923–1988’. Below the book is a stylised letter ‘N’, referring to the surname of the reverse side’s designer Štefan Novotný, and the mint mark of the Kremnica Mint (Mincovňa Kremnica), consisting of the letters ‘MK’ placed between two dies.
Coin details:
| Designer: | Karol Ličko (obverse), Štefan Novotný (reverse) |
| Composition: | .900 silver, .100 copper |
| Weight: | 18 g |
| Diameter: | 34 mm |
| Edge: | • AUTORKA OBĽÚBENEJ DETSKEJ LITERATÚRY (Author of popular children’s literature) |
| Producer: | Kremnica Mint |
| Engraver: | Dalibor Schmidt |
| Issuing volume: | 2,800 coins in brilliant uncirculated quality 6,300 coins in proof quality |
| Issuing date: | 27 January 2023 |
