Netherlands €5 2010. 150th anniversary of the novel "Max Havelaar"

Written in 1860 by a disgruntled civil servant in the Dutch East Indies, Eduard Douwes Dekker, under the pen name Multatuli, it was instrumental in the molding of Dutch colonial policy and is considered one of the most forceful indictments of colonialism ever written.
    It was a protest telling the story of Multatuli, who although a civil servant, took up the cause of the locals only to be rebuffed by his Dutch superiors and the local profiteers. The book was instrumental in forcing Europeans to recognize the oppressive consequences of their actions. For the Dutch, who did not relinquish Indonesia until 1954 after a bloody war and the application of intense international pressure, it was a motivational force for a more ethical policy towards its colonial subjects, but which in reality was of little benefit to the masses. Max Havelaar is still in print today and has been translated into forty-two languages.
 The proof €5 and €10 coins of identical design feature another technologically-innovative interpretation of Queen Beatrix, while the reverse shows a pen on text from the novel surrounded by a circle of agricultural workers. The €10 is the same size as the old 10 guilder.
 

SPECIFICATIONS
Metal:  .925 silver             
Weight: 11.9 grams
Diameter: 33 mm                   
Quality: proof                     
Face value:  € 5                        
Mintage: max. 20,000                    
Price: $48.75