The most beautiful

It holds back for a long time before revealing itself. When its spherical bud suddenly "bursts", it reveals its entire wealth of flowers, revealing all its beauty.

In England, the peony is also known as the rose royale, and a Chinese word for it, shaoyao, means "the most beautiful". The lush splendor of the peony has long been a popular motif in Chinese and Japanese art. Many European artists have also painted peonies, including celebrities such as Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Vincent van Gogh, Claude Monet and Édouard Manet.

According to a Chinese legend, a beautiful empress ordered all the flowers in her garden to bloom in the middle of winter. All complied, except the peony. Angered by this refusal, the empress banished it to the most remote and coldest part of her empire, but despite the inhospitable environment, the peony thrived and blossomed beautifully. The empress decided to let the peony return home and declared it the "queen of all flowers".

One side of the 10 euro coin shows three peonies: one roughly spherical bud, one half-blossomed and one in full bloom. - All three are artistic, detailed imprints of real flowers. Behind them is a ribbon with stylized peonies printed in colour.

The obverse depicts happiness and joy: the hair of a smiling young woman is adorned with a laurel branch and pearls. To the right of her head is a curved horn of plenty, from which calyxes of a peony and coins pour out.

The peony is the sixth flower in the "With the language of flowers" series, a coin set with very special coins. As gift coins, they speak the language of poetry, allowing love for life to blossom.