Spain. New Silver Proof Coins Remember Distinguished Academic and Lexicographer

Observed on the 8th March each year since 1975, this year is especially noteworthy as the event marks its 50th anniversary. María Juana Moliner Ruiz was born on the 30th March 1900 as the eldest daughter of Doctor Enrique Moliner and Matilde Ruiz. While still a teenager her father left for Argentina, never returning and Moliner lived with her mother, sister and brother Enrique in dire poverty. Despite the family’s lack of finances, she was able to pursue her Baccalaureate qualifications and went on to obtain a degree in History in 1921 from the University of Zaragoza. Four years later, she married fellow student Fernando Ramón Ferrando, a physics graduate with the couple having had four children.

In 1946, Moliner was put in charge of the library at the Superior Technical School of Industrial Engineers in Madrid, a position she kept until her retirement in 1970. During this time, Moliner began work on her Diccionario de uso del español, the body of work she would become well-known for. The publication took fifteen years to complete and was first published in 1966. In the presentation of her publication, the term ‘for use’ was applied to this dictionary, meaning that it constitutes an instrument to guide the use of contemporary Spanish and bringing all the resources that the language had available. The purpose was to take the definition of traditional Spanish words included in the long-referred to Dictionary of the Spanish Language of the Royal Spanish Academy and to recast them and show them in a more current and agile way. In recognition of Moliner’s contributions to the written Spanish language, she was named as a candidate for a seat in the Real Academia Española in 1972, but it was not awarded to her. Had she been successful in achieving this accolade, Moliner would have been the first woman member of that institution.

Since Moliner’s death in 1981, the publication has become one of the most outstanding dictionaries of Spanish lexicography and has been re-published and edited several times with new entries and definitions. The most recent print was released in 2016 with the newest edition including 5500 new entries bringing the total number of words and definitions to 92,700. This latest edition was also made available in an electronic CD-ROM version.

The reverse of the silver proof coins includes an image of the lexicographer and librarian María Moliner, recreated from a photograph sourced from the national Archives and near the time of her retirement. Next to the image is the international symbol for women which is shown with a purple colour applied and is surrounded by the text MARÍA MOLINER along with scattered letters in different sizes and fonts superimposed over part of the design that forms the word IGUALDAD (equality). At the bottom is the legend 8-M INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY (8 March). The denomination 10 EURO is placed just to the left of the women’s symbol. The obverse includes an effigy of HM King Felipe VI created by FNMT engraver Luis Jose Diaz Salas. The legend FELIPE VI REY DE ESPANA is placed along the upper rim of the coin and the year of issue 2025 is placed just below the King’s likeness.

Available from the 8^th March, each silver proof coin is encapsulated and presented in a custom case accompanied with a numbered certificate of authenticity. For additional information for this and other coins available from the Real Casa de la Moneda, please visit their e-webshop.