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The 70th Anniversary of UNESCO Medal symbolizes peace: the obverse displays the number 70 inside which is engraved the word ¡®Peace¡¯ in 6 languages : English, French, Spanish, Russian, Arabic and Chinese. The special 70th Anniversary logo is featured on the reverse. The medal was minted by Arthus-Bertrand, established in 1803, creator of medals, badges, decorations, jewelry and prestigious objects.

This patina finish medal is available in old bronze and bronze silvered.

Mawlana Jalal-ud-Din Balkhi-Rumi (1207-1273) ¡ª (2007)

The Persian-language poet and philosopher Mawlana Jalal-ud-Din Balkhi-Rumi (Mevlana Celaleddin Belh¨© R¨±m¨©) was born in 1207 in Balkh, now Afghanistan. He lived most of his life in Konya, in today¡¯s Turkey, where he died in 1273. Author of the renowned Mathnawi or ¡°Rhyming Couplets¡±, he is considered to be one of the greatest Sufi masters, a peer of the well known Ibn Arabi and Shams-e Tabrizi. During his lifetime, Mawlana enjoyed especially good relations with people of diverse social, cultural and religious backgrounds. He addressed humanity as a whole: ¡°I do not distinguish between the relative and the stranger.¡±

In collaboration with Afghanistan, the Islamic Republic of Iran and Turkey, UNESCO celebrated the 800th anniversary of Mawlana¡¯s birth at its Paris headquarters. The Director-General, Ko?chiro Matsuura, inaugurated a day-long programme of cultural events on 6 September 2007, highlighted by the launching of a commemorative medal. Struck by the Paris Mint, the medal¡¯s obverse side bears a portrait of the poet. The reverse features the UNESCO logo.

Available in gold, silver and bronze.

60th Anniversary of UNESCO ¡ª (2005)

UNESCO¡¯s 60th anniversary began with a round of 60 weeks of celebration, starting in October 2005 which also coincided with the 33rd session of the General Conference. Among the souvenirs specially created for the occasion is a commemorative medal in the shape of a spinning top. This is the first UNESCO medal to use colour.

The obverse displays a pinwheel design of alternating blue and bronze bands to emphasize a spinning effect, even in static position. The anniversary slogan ¡°Thinking and building peace¡± is inscribed on these bands. The reverse features the special 60th anniversary logo.

The medal was minted by Pichard-Balme, a French master-medallist company specializing in this activity since 1844. The sculptor and medallist Joaqu¨ªn Jim¨¦nez created the original design. Among many creations, Jim¨¦nez also designed the French sides of the one and two-euro coins.

Available in bronze and gold-plated silver

Michelangelo (1475-1564) ¡ª Second Edition (2002)

UNESCO minted a medal in 1974 to commemorate the 500th birth anniversary of the Italian Renaissance artist Michelangelo Buonarroti. This medal was reissued in 2002 using a different design provided by the Paris Mint. The Latin inscription on the obverse reads, M. Angelus Bonarotus, Patritius Florentinus (patrician of Florence) with the artist¡¯s portrait attributed to the 18th-century French sculptor Joseph H¨¦rard.

The reverse is inscribed Faeliciter iunxit (He joined them together in happiness) referring to Michelangelo¡¯s excellence in painting, sculpture and architecture, each symbolized by paintbrushes on a palette, a sculpted torso and various architectural tools. The Roman numerals MDCLXXIII refer to the founding in 1673 of the Paris Salon, the official art exhibition in France.

Available in bronze

Marie Curie (1867-1934) ¡ª (1998)

The Marie Curie medal holds the distinction of being the first one honouring a woman. Curie was also the first woman to receive the Nobel Prize in 1903, for physics. Born Maria Sklodowska in Warsaw, she married French physicist Pierre Curie and together they discovered natural radioactivity. Further research led her to determine the atomic weight of radium which earned her a second Nobel Prize in 1911, for chemistry. Great scholarship notwithstanding, she still had to fight the prejudices of her day. Her humanitarian ideals bore fruit with the founding of a research institute in Paris that today bears her name.

Issued for the 130th anniversary of Curie¡¯s birth, the medal was unveiled at an international event in 1998 to launch UNESCO¡¯s Future Scientists campaign, aiming to inspire young people, especially girls, to pursue scientific studies and careers.

Created by the Polish artist Magdalena Dobrucka, the obverse shows Curie¡¯s portrait. The reverse is inscribed Maria Sklodowska Curie 1867-1934, UNESCO 1997, with Po and Ra, the symbols of the chemical elements, polonium and radium. Polonium was co-discovered by Curie and named after her native country.

Available in silver.

50th Anniversary of UNESCO/Five Continents ¡ª (1996)

The representatives of 37 countries met in London in 1945 and signed UNESCO¡¯s Constitution on November 16. A year later, after ratification by 20 signatories on November 4, 1946, the Constitution came into force and UNESCO was born. There were many activities commemorating the Organization¡¯s fiftieth anniversary in 1996, among them the minting of a medal.

Designed by the Swiss artist Hans Erni, the obverse features a composite of five winged faces in graceful circular motion, representing the earth¡¯s five continents. This was also adopted as the logo of the World Decade for Cultural Development which reached its conclusion in 1997.

The UNESCO temple appears on the reverse. The original 1996 edition was marked 50e anniversaire.The medal was later reissued without this inscription, since then it is also referred to as the Five Continents medal.

Out of stock

Confucius (551-475 BC) ¡ª (1995)

The United Nations convened the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995, bringing together 50,000 men and women from 189 countries and ending with the adoption of a Declaration and Platform for Action. The Platform identified 12 critical areas of concern regarding women¡¯s participation in all spheres of public and private life. Three previous world conferences on women, Mexico City (1975), Copenhagen (1980) and Nairobi (1985) greatly enhanced international awareness of women¡¯s concerns and created invaluable links between national women¡¯s movements and the international community. The Beijing conference focused on the cross-cutting issues of equality, development and peace and analyzed them from a development perspective.

The Confucius medal was issued in 1995 to mark UNESCO¡¯s participation at this conference. The obverse side bears an engraving by Elizabeth Pectorin based on a 1771 portrait of the Chinese philosopher by French missionaries in China. (It is today found in the archives of the Biblioth¨¨que nationale in Paris.) The inscription reads Confucius, 551-479 av. JC (551-479 BC), with the philosopher¡¯s name also in Chinese. The reverse features the UNESCO logo.

Available in gold, silver and bronze.

Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948) ¡ª (1994)

In 1994, UNESCO issued a commemorative medal marking the 125th anniversary of the birth of Mahatma Gandhi, India¡¯s ¡°Father of the Nation¡± and the world¡¯s advocate of non-violence, peace and tolerance. The General Conference of the previous year had adopted a resolution calling for a series of activities around the ¡°great world personality whose thought and creative modes of non-violent action have shaped socio-economic and political currents in the twentieth century.¡±

These events included a memorial lecture on ¡°Gandhi in the Global Village¡± and a photographic exhibition on his life and times, all in anticipation of the 1995 United Nations Year of Tolerance for which UNESCO was the lead agency. This in turn led to the adoption by UNESCO¡¯s Member States of the Declaration of Principles of Tolerance and the proclamation of November 16 each year as the International Day for Tolerance.

The irregularly-shaped medal bears a portrait of Gandhi engraved by the French artist Pierre-Yves Tr¨¦mois. Etched underneath is the Mahatma¡¯s message of hope: ¡°In the midst of darkness light prevails.¡± The reverse side carries the UNESCO logo.

Available in gold, silver and bronze.

Federico Fellini (1920-1993) ¡ª (1994)

When Italian director Federico Fellini died in 1993, UNESCO¡¯s Member States had just adopted a General Conference resolution calling for the safeguarding of the cinematographic heritage. An appeal was launched to the international community inviting governments, industry and the public to participate in a campaign to keep the seventh art alive. Activities were also earmarked for UNESCO¡¯s participation in the forthcoming cinema centenary celebrations in 1995.

The Fellini medal, unveiled at the Cannes Film Festival in May 1995, therefore had a double significance: to honour the director¡¯s tremendous contribution to film as an art form and to commemorate the centenary of the birth of cinema (1895-1995). The medal¡¯s design of fragmented, interlocking images is the work of Italian painter Valerio Adami.

The obverse side features a profile of Fellini with his signature hat, facing the inscription 8 1/2, the title of one of the most famous films in the history of cinema. The reverse is inscribed Fellini (1920-1993) UNESCO. French sculptor Robert Michel created the model and the medal was struck by the Paris Mint.

Available in gold, silver and bronze.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) ¡ª (1991)

UNESCO commemorated the bicentenary of Mozart¡¯s death in 1991 with a concert and gala evening at the Sorbonne in Paris and the presentation of the first Mozart medal to the soprano Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, one of the greatest interpreters of the Austrian composer¡¯s creative genius. Designed by Raymond Joly, the obverse shows the young musician at the keyboard, with the inscription Mozart 1756-1791. The reverse has the UNESCO logo and the inscription Ann¨¦e Mozart 1991 (Mozart Year 1991).

Mozart was one of the most significant and influential composers of Western classical music. He started to play the piano at the age of three, began composing music before he was five years old and created at least 600 musical compositions. He is the author of religious masterpieces, operas, 41 symphonies, as well as several concertos, sonatas and chamber music. He travelled extensively through Europe before becoming Concertmaster in Salzburg from 1772-1777, and then moved to Vienna as a free artist where he married Constanza Weber and resided until his death in 1791.

The Permanent Delegation of Austria to UNESCO requested that UNESCO should be associated in 2006 with the 250th anniversary of the birth of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The General Conference in 2005 adopted a resolution to this effect.

Available in gold, silver and bronze.

Silk Roads ¡ª (1990)

To commemorate the launching of an international campaign for the safeguarding of Moenjodaro, UNESCO struck one of its first world heritage medals in 1974. The ruins of this huge city, built entirely of unbaked brick in the third millennium BC, lie in Pakistan¡¯s Indus Valley. It provides an astonishing example of modern town planning, with streets crossing at right angles, multi-storey houses and an underground sewage network. At the time of the campaign these remains were threatened with flooding from the Indus River and encroaching salinity.

Moenjodaro was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1980. The campaign was completed in 1997, giving way to a master plan to ensure the sustainability of the conservation work. The medal¡¯s obverse features a king-priest, while the reverse has a pictographic inscription of a unicorn from a seal found at the site.

Available in silver.

Jawaharlal Nehru (1889-1964) ¡ª (1989)

In 1989, UNESCO struck a medal in commemoration of the centenary of the birth of Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of independent India and champion of non-aligned movement and international solidarity. The medal was presented at the opening of an international seminar on ¡°Nehru, the man and his vision¡± at UNESCO House in September that year, followed by a major exhibition on his life and work in November.

Two years earlier, UNESCO¡¯s Member States had adopted a General Conference resolution paying homage to ¡°Nehru¡¯s vision of world peace, of understanding and friendship between peoples and nations, and of a world order in which different national cultures are appreciated by humanity as a whole.¡± The medal¡¯s obverse bears Nehru¡¯s portrait in profile, with his name inscribed in English and Hindi. The reverse has the UNESCO logo.

Available in gold, silver and bronze.

40th Anniversary of UNESCO ¡ª (1986)

The United Nations General Assembly adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, intended as ¡°as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations.¡± It consists of a preamble and 30 articles setting forth the basic civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights and fundamental freedoms that all human beings in every country should enjoy. The declaration¡¯s provisions are considered to carry the weight of international law because they are so widely accepted and used as a yardstick for measuring the conduct of states.

To mark the 40th anniversary of the declaration, UNESCO struck a commemorative medal in 1988. Designed by the French sculptor Albert F¨¦raud, the obverse features a stylized representation of a man and woman riding on a flying carpet comprising two parallel bars, the symbol of equality. The words D¨¦claration universelle des droits de l¡¯homme (Universal Declaration of Human Rights) are inscribed on the edge. The reverse bears a stylized flame with the first sentence of the declaration¡¯s Article 1: Tous les ¨ºtres humains naissent libres et ¨¦gaux en dignit¨¦ et en droits. (All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.)

Out of stock

Victor Hugo (1802-1885) ¡ª (1985)

To mark the centenary of Victor Hugo¡¯s death in 1985, The UNESCO Courier, then published in 32 languages, devoted an entire issue to the French writer, a salute to the man who was both a part of his century and of the future, who denounced the death penalty and fought for the rights of man and the oppressed.

A medal was also struck at the Paris Mint. Designed by the French artist Louisette-Jeanne Courroy, the obverse carries a portrait of Victor Hugo at the age of 50. The reverse shows a storm-swept tree and the inscription, C¡¯est par la fraternit¨¦ qu¡¯on sauve la libert¨¦ (Fraternity is the saviour of liberty), a declaration made by Hugo when he returned to Paris from exile in 1870.

Available in gold, silver and bronze

Niels Bohr (1885-1962) ¡ª (1985)

UNESCO minted a medal in 1985 to commemorate the birth centenary of Niels Bohr, one of the most eminent scientists of the 20th century. Born in Denmark in 1885, he is considered the father of quantum physics and his thinking on the ethics of science has infused UNESCO¡¯s work. The medal was sculpted by Siv Holme-Muse of Sweden and struck by the Paris Mint, the obverse bearing the profile of the 1922 Nobel Prize laureate repeated six times.

The reverse incorporates Bohr¡¯s own drawing of electrons orbiting around an atomic structure and the formula E2-E1=hy2, representing electrons in relation to hydrogen, as well as the scientist¡¯s signature. To the right of the centre is the inscription Contraria sunt complementa (Opposites are complementary), the principle of complementarity Bohr formulated from quantum physics.

Available in gold, silver and bronze

Sim¨®n Bol¨ªvar (1783-1830) ¡ª (1983)

UNESCO¡¯s Executive Board decided in 1978 to create the International Sim¨®n Bol¨ªvar Prize to reward contributions to the freedom, independence and dignity of peoples and to the strengthening of solidarity among nations. Five years later, at a ceremony in Caracas, the prize was awarded for the first time to Nelson Mandela of South Africa and King Juan Carlos I of Spain. A medal was also minted to commemorate the bicentenary of the birth of ¡°The Liberator.¡± Born in Venezuela, Bol¨ªvar was a great defender of emancipation from colonialism, a standard-bearer of democratic independence and the liberator of his country, as well as Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.

Designed by the Venezuelan artist H¨¦ctor Poleo and engraved by Denis Chatelain, the medal¡¯s obverse features a profile portrait of Bol¨ªvar while the reverse depicts a symbolic sun rising over a Latin America in the process of unification, with the dove of peace taking wing. Incribed in Spanish is one of his famous quotations, La educaci¨®n es la base de la libertad. (Education is the foundation of freedom.)

Available in gold, silver and bronze

Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881-1955) ¡ª (1981)

In 1981, UNESCO convened an international symposium and exhibition to mark the birth centenary of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, the French theologian, philosopher and palaeontologist. A medal was also issued. Designed by the French artist Paul Belmondo and struck at the Paris Mint, the obverse side shows a portrait of Teilhard de Chardin.

The reverse features a map of the world with, in its centre, the Greek letter ¡°omega¡±, the philosopher¡¯s term for the convergence point of the earth¡¯s evolution. The inscription on the reverse side, La compr¨¦hension et le respect sacr¨¦ de l¡¯humain (Understanding and respect for all that is human) is taken from a letter written by Teilhard de Chardin to Father Auguste Valensin in February 1928.

Available in gold, silver and bronze

His Holiness Pope John Paul II (1920-2005) ¡ª (1980)

In response to an invitation from UNESCO, His Holiness Pope John Paul II made an official visit to the Organization¡¯s Headquarters in 1980, during the 109th session of the Executive Board. The Holy Father spoke at a special meeting held in the main conference hall of UNESCO, following addresses by the President of the General Conference, the Chairman of the Executive Board and the Director-General. Born Karol Wojtyla, the Polish ecclesiastic was first ordained to the priesthood in 1946, became Cardinal in 1967 and was elected to the Pontificate in 1978.

The medal¡¯s obverse is inscribed with the Pope¡¯s coat of arms. In the background are the symbols of papal authority, the tiara, and the keys of St Peter, one in gold, the other in silver, bound with a cord. The Pontiff¡¯s personal coats of arms represents a cross with the letter M, symbol of the Madonna. On the reverse is the UNESCO logo, with the inscription Visite de Sa Saintet¨¦ Le Pape Jean Paul II, Paris, 2 juin 1980 (Visit of His Holiness Pope Jean Paul II, Paris, 2 June 1980).

Available in bronze

Avicenna (980-1037) ¡ª (1980)

To mark the 1,000th birth anniversary of the most influential of Islam¡¯s philosopher-scientists, UNESCO minted this commemorative medal in 1980. Abu Ali al-Husain Ibn Abdallah Ibn Sina was known in Europe as Avicenna.A healer and a humanist, Avicenna developed an exemplary holistic approach that captures the essence of ethics in science and has thus come to serve as a source of inspiration for the promotion of this concern, which is of central importance to UNESCO.

Designed by sculptor-medallist Victor Douek, the obverse depicts a scene showing Avicenna surrounded by his disciples, inspired by a miniature in a 17th-century Turkish manuscript. Reproduced on the reverse is a phrase by Avicenna in Arabic and Latin which means, ¡°Cooperate for the well-being of the body and the survival of the human species¡± as well as the signature attributed to Avicenna.

At the initiative of the Islamic Republic of Iran, UNESCO established the Avicenna Prize for Ethics in Science in 2002. The awardee receives a gold medal.

Available in gold, silver and bronze

Albert Einstein (1879-1955) ¡ª (1979)

En 1979, l¡¯UNESCO a ¨¦dit¨¦ une m¨¦daille comm¨¦morative pour le centenaire de la naissance d¡¯Albert Einstein. Grav¨¦ par le Fran?ais Max L¨¦ognany, l¡¯avers repr¨¦sente le portrait du grand savant vers la fin de sa vie. Au revers, une silhouette de son profil constitue l¡¯arri¨¨re-plan sur lequel sont inscrites des ¨¦quations math¨¦matiques qui r¨¦sument l¡¯essentiel de sa contribution au progr¨¨s des sciences physiques.

La plus connue de ces ¨¦quations, E = mc?, ¨¦tablit une relation quantitative entre l¡¯¨¦nergie et la mati¨¨re, relation d¨¦termin¨¦e par le carr¨¦ de la vitesse de la lumi¨¨re. La deuxi¨¨me ¨¦quation symbolise les r¨¦sultats des recherches d¡¯Einstein sur les lois de l¡¯effet photo-¨¦lectrique, pour lesquelles il re?ut le prix Nobel de Physique en 1921. La troisi¨¨me ¨¦quation est tir¨¦e de sa th¨¦orie de la relativit¨¦. La signature du savant figure au bas de la m¨¦daille.

L¡¯UNESCO d¨¦cerne la m¨¦daille Albert Einstein ¨¤ des personnalit¨¦s ¨¦minentes ayant apport¨¦ une contribution majeure ¨¤ la science et ¨¤ la coop¨¦ration internationale.

Disponible en or, argent et bronze.

Aristotle (384-322 BC) ¡ª (1978)

To mark the 2300th anniversary of the Greek philosopher¡¯s death, UNESCO organized a round table in Paris in 1978 and presented a commemorative medal.

The obverse shows a profile of Aristotle from a sculpture in the Kunsthistoriches Museum in Vienna with the inscription Aristotelis in Greek letters.The reverse shows an owl, symbol of Athena, goddess of wisdom, a map of Greece and a quotation in ancient Greek from his great body of work, ¡°The energy of the mind is the essence of life.¡± The star refers to the exact location of Stagirus in Macedonia, Aristotle¡¯s birthplace.

Struck by the Paris Mint, the engraving was done by Max L¨¦ognany.

Available in gold, silver and bronze

Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) ¡ª (1977)

To mark the 400th anniversary of the Flemish artist¡¯s birth in 1977, UNESCO struck this commemorative medal. The obverse is a bust of the painter from his self-portrait at the Rubens House in Antwerp. The reverse is a mother and infant from Motherhood, a drawing from the collection of the Louvre Museum in Paris.The inscription Pietro Pauolo Rubens is in the style of the artist¡¯s signature.

During a ceremony in Brussels, the first medal was presented in gold to the late King Baudouin of Belgium. Struck by the Paris Mint, the engraving was done by the French artist Serge Santucci. Proceeds from the sale of the medal were used to assist young artists from developing countries.

Available in gold, silver and bronze