Brother Cyprian was born Franz Ignác Jäschke on 28 July 1724 in Polkowice village in the Silesia region of Poland. He took his religious vows at the Camaldolese monastery in Zobor near Nitra around 1753 From there, in 1756, he moved to the Red Monastery (Červený Kláštor) in the Spiš district of what is now eastern Slovakia, where he remained until his death in 1775. It is believed that before joining the Camaldolese order, he spent some time at Italian monasteries, where he acquired knowledge in botany, plant taxonomy and herbalism. He also went to Wrocław, where he expanded his medical knowledge. At the Red Monastery, he worked as a healer and ran the monastery’s herbal dispensary. He treated not only his fellow brothers, but also people from the surrounding area. He established a monastery garden where he cultivated medicinal and ornamental plants as well as fruit trees. He prepared medicines, ointments and medicinal tinctures based on contemporary medical books and his own experience. Between 1766 and 1771 Brother Cyprian wrote what is now the oldest preserved herbal from the territory of Slovakia, a particularly valuable document in the history of botany, pharmacognosy, pharmaceutics and medicine. It contains important botanical texts and interesting facts about the medical treatments and remedies of the time, as well as about the life of the Camaldolese monks at the Red Monastery.
Obverse:
The obverse features an imagined portrait of Brother Cyprian, who is holding a basket containing plants. Depicted above the basket is a flying machine, and above that is an eagle in flight. Inscribed below the basket is the year of issuance ‘2024’. On the left side is the Slovak coat of arms, above which are the coin’s denomination ‘10’ and currency ‘EURO’, one above the other. The name of the issuing country ‘SLOVENSKO’ appears along the lower left edge of the design.
Reverse:
The central image on the reverse is a medicinal plant featured in Brother Cyprian’s herbal. Depicted on the right side is part of the Red Monastery set against the backdrop of the Three Crowns Massif a landmark in the Pieniny Mountains. Above this image, in the upper right of the design, are the dates of Brother Cyprian’s birth ‘1724’ and death ‘1775’, one above the other. To the left of the plant are the stylised letters ‘RL’, referring to the coin’s designer Roman Lugár, and below them is the mint mark of the Kremnica Mint, consisting of the letters ‘MK’ placed between two dies. The curved inscription FRÁTER CYPRIÁN appears along the left edge, and to its right, also in curved lettering, is the Red Monastery’s Slovak name ‘ČERVENÝ KLÁŠTOR’.
| Designer: | Roman Lugár |
| Composition: | .900 silver, .100 copper |
| Weight: | 18 g |
| Diameter: | 34 mm |
| Edge: | – LEKÁRNIK – LIEČITEĽ – BOTANIK – MAJSTER TISÍCICH REMESIEL (apothecary – healer – botanist – master of a thousand crafts) |
| Producer: | Kremnica Mint |
| Engraver: | Jakub Morávek |
| Issuing volume: | 4,050 coins in brilliant uncirculated quality 9,150 coins in proof quality |
| Issuing date: | 10 June 2024 |
