Adam František Kollár (15 April 1718 – 10 July 1783) was a Slovak scholar, polyglot and jurist who served as a councillor at the court of Maria Theresa, the Austro-Hungarian Empress. He was known throughout the Europe of his day as an outstanding figure of intellectual life. After finishing his studies, he began work in 1748 as a scribe at the Imperial-Royal Library in Vienna, where he rose through the ranks to become the library’s director and a court councillor. His achievements at the library included enlarging and cataloguing the institution’s collections, producing a four-volume systematic catalogue of theological texts, and completing and publishing an inventory of codices. He oversaw the establishment of the Imperial Royal Academy of Oriental Languages in 1778. His philosophical and legal opinions contributed to Maria Theresa’s reforms, and he was the monarch’s personal adviser on historical, legal and educational issues in Hungary. He also participated in the planning of educational reforms.

Obverse:

The coin’s obverse design depicts part of a period library together with the name of one of Kollár’s scientific works: Analecta monumentorum omnis aevi Vindobonensia (Viennese Anthology of Texts of All Ages) At the left of the central bookshelf is the coat of arms of the Slovak Republic. Along the top edge, in semi-circle, is the name of the issuing country ‘SLOVENSKO’, and at the bottom is the year of issuance ‘2018’. The coin’s denomination and currency ‘10 EURO’ are shown in two lines within a bookshelf at the lower left. On the upper bookshelf, between two books on the left, are the mint mark of the Kremnica Mint (consisting of the initials ‘MK’ between two dies) and the stylised letters ‘ZF’, the initials of the coin’s designer (Zbyňek Fojtů).

Reverse:

The reverse depicts a portrait of Kollár. At the left, inscribed in semi-circle along the edge, is his name ‘ADAM FRANTIŠEK KOLLÁR’, and at the right of the portrait are the years of his birth and death ‘1718 - 1783’.