Making Money With Free Software
A competition to design the new 5 euro commemorative coin, set by the Dutch Ministry of Finance, has been won by Stani Michiels, the Belgian artist and free software developer. His winning design, developed entirely with free software, has now been realized and is a legal coin in Holland.
The theme of the competition was "Holland and Architecture" and a selected group of architectural offices and artists were invited to take part. Michiels says in his blog, "All the developing and processing was done on GNU/Linux machines which were running Ubuntu PCs," with some final touches being done on his Eee PC.
The free software used included Inkscape, Gimp and Michiels' brainchild Phatch, with most of the work done with Python. Besides his art, Michiels also provides his own Python IDE called SPE.
One side of the coin is covered with the names of important Dutch architects. The order and size of which was arranged according to the number of hits they received on the Internet. "Of course this order changes over time and as such this is another time stamp on the coin besides the number 2008." explains Michiels.
Together the names form a portrait of the Dutch Queen Beatrix. To achieve this effect, Michiels developed his own special font.
The back of the coin is decorated with the spines of books by famous Dutch architects and an array of birds to represent the capitols of the different Dutch provinces. The coin was released at all Dutch post offices on October 30, 2008. Solid gold and silver editions are also available for collectors worldwide.
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.

News
-
OpenMandriva Lx 6.0 Available for Installation
The latest release of OpenMandriva has arrived with a new kernel, an updated Plasma desktop, and a server edition.
-
TrueNAS 25.04 Arrives with Thousands of Changes
One of the most popular Linux-based NAS solutions has rolled out the latest edition, based on Ubuntu 25.04.
-
Fedora 42 Available with Two New Spins
The latest release from the Fedora Project includes the usual updates, a new kernel, an official KDE Plasma spin, and a new System76 spin.
-
So Long, ArcoLinux
The ArcoLinux distribution is the latest Linux distribution to shut down.
-
What Open Source Pros Look for in a Job Role
Learn what professionals in technical and non-technical roles say is most important when seeking a new position.
-
Asahi Linux Runs into Issues with M4 Support
Due to Apple Silicon changes, the Asahi Linux project is at odds with adding support for the M4 chips.
-
Plasma 6.3.4 Now Available
Although not a major release, Plasma 6.3.4 does fix some bugs and offer a subtle change for the Plasma sidebar.
-
Linux Kernel 6.15 First Release Candidate Now Available
Linux Torvalds has announced that the release candidate for the final release of the Linux 6.15 series is now available.
-
Akamai Will Host kernel.org
The organization dedicated to cloud-based solutions has agreed to host kernel.org to deliver long-term stability for the development team.
-
Linux Kernel 6.14 Released
The latest Linux kernel has arrived with extra Rust support and more.