The 100th anniversary of the May Declaration

Each year, the Bank of Slovenia issues special collector series of coins: Gold, Silver and Bi-coloured, with the same graphic motive. The main idea for the design of collector coins celebrating the 100th anniversary of the May Declaration originates from the preserved handwriting of the declaration, presumably the manuscript of Anton Korošec, a Slovenian political leader and a prominent member of the conservative People’s Party. As the president of the Yugoslav Club, Anton Korošec read out the May Declaration, which called for all South Slavs to be united in one state unit within the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy.

The May Declaration was written in German, however, at the end of the manuscript, the date of the event is marked by some Slovenian words, 29/05/17, 1/2 9h zvečer! (meaning the evening when the declaration was actually written). The Slovenian inscription can be understood as both a symbol of the important role of the Slovenian nation in the formation of the declaration and an emblem of the rebellious spirit of Slovenians and their love for Slovenian nation and language. This type of design proposal, which is based on the “Slovenian” part of the declaration manuscript, also avoids any kind of personality cult and emphasizes the fraternity and unity of all Slovenian political parties of that time.