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Niels Henrik Abel
 The Abel Prize
 Laureate 2009
 Press Room
 Multimedia 2009

Memorabilia

Few mathematicians have graced their country’s stamps, banknotes and coins as often as Niels Henrik Abel. Memorials to Abel have also been raised throughout Norway.

Here is a small sample of the best known honours conferred upon Abel.

This material was collected by
Nils Voje Johansen and Yngvar Reichelt
and has been published with their permission.

The Abel Monument Stamps 1929 Stamps 2002 Collectibles 500 kroner banknotes Commemorative coin Medals Miscellaneous

Commemorative coin

2002 20 kroner coin

The 20 krone coin was put into circulation on 5 August 2002

Coin data:
Designer: Ingrid Austlid Rise
Diameter: 27.5 mm
Thickness: 2.2 mm
Weight: 9.9 g
Alloy: 81% Cu, 10% Zn, 9% Ni
Edge: Plain
mynt

Obverse:
Portrait of HM King Harald V viewed from the right. Surrounding the portrait: HARALD V . NORGES KONGE. Left of the portrait’s neck section: The artist’s signature: IAR. Below the portrait: the year 2002 with the crossed pick and hammer mark of the Royal Norwegian Mint and the mark of the director of the mint Magne Flågans at right

Reverse:
An extract from Abel’s notebook, together with the lemniscate. It has the form of a figure eight and is a curve of degree four with numerous interesting properties that Abel studied in detail. The other symbols cannot be connected with any particular mathematical theory. At the right of the lemniscate: 20 KR and below this across the coin: Niels Henrik Abel and 1802 1829 with the first date atop the second below the name.

In addition to the lemniscate in Abel’s hand the illustrations on the coin were taken from one of Abel’s notebooks. In the centre of the coin we see a vertical line of ink spots. However, the spot right above the bottom one is not exactly as it appears in Abel’s notebook. The shape of the ink spot was changed to have the same outline as the island of Finnøy! A gesture towards the place Niels Henrik Abel spent the first years of his life - and perhaps also to Svein Gjedrem, the Governor of the Central Bank of Norway, who is also from Finnøy.

See also the facsimile from Infomat, March 2006 (pdf)