2016-02-05 Fri

Donatello is a world renowned Italian Renaissance artist known for carving out the Biblical sculpture, David, in bronze, a nude between its helmet and boots. 2016 marks his 550th death anniversary.

Titio Maccio Plauto was an Old Latin period playwright whose works are some of the oldest comedies to survive today in its entirety. Known by his Latin name, Titus Maccius Plautus, he lived between 254 BCE and 184 BCE. 2016 marks his 2200th death anniversary.

The obverse of the coin commemorating Plauto depicts two theatre masks – the young woman and the slave – which are a representation of his style, New Comedy. A mosaic from 2nd century CE along with the construction plan of a Roman theatre is placed above the masks. The dates – ‘184 BCE’ and ‘2016’ – are placed under the masks with the inscription ‘PLAUTO’ in Italian under them.

The coin commemorating Donatello showcases the head of Donatello’s Bronze statue of David dating to the 1430s or later. The dates – ‘1466’ and ‘2016’ – are to the left of the image and the inscription ‘DONATELLO’ is placed under the bust.

The reverse of both coins are the same as those of other €2 coins. Both coins weigh 8.5 grams, measure 25.75 mm in diameter and have a mintage of 1.5 million pieces. Both coins are bimetallic with the 12 stars of the European Union flag place on the outer ring.