Cyprus · 30 years of the Institute of Neurology and Genetics

Issue date11 Dec 2020

Total mintage412,000

EU maximum412,000

Editions4

Edge lettering2 ΕΥΡΩ 2 EURO × 2

InscriptionKYΠΡΟΣ - KIBRIS / ΙΝΣΤΙΤΟΥΤΟ ΝΕΥΡΟΛΟΓΊΑΣ & ΓΕΝΕΤΙΚΗΣ KYΠΡΟY 1990-2020

DesignerGeorgios Stamatopoulos

mintBank of Greece - Mint, Halandri

Issue occasion

The coin commemorates the 30th anniversary of the Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics, which operates as a centre of excellence for high-quality services, innovative research and postgraduate education. The design depicts a neuron with its synapses, surrounded by the inscriptions “KYΠΡΟΣ - KIBRIS” and “ΙΝΣΤΙTOYΤΟ ΝΕΥΡΟΛΟΓΊΑΣ & ΓΕΝΕΤΙKHΣ KYΠΡΟY 1990-2020”.

The design

The coin’s design depicts a neuron with its synapses in connection with the activities of the “Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics”, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary. The Cypriot institute has gained international recognition and plays an active and essential role as a national, regional and international centre of excellence for the provision of high-quality services, innovative research and postgraduate education. The issuing country’s name “KYΠΡΟΣ - KIBRIS” and the inscription “ΙΝΣΤΙΤOΥΤΟ ΝΕΥΡΟΛΟΓΊΑΣ & ΓΕΝΕΤΙΚHΣ KYΠΡΟY 1990-2020” (i.e. “Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics 1990-2020”) are engraved in a circle around the coin’s design.
The outer ring of the coin bears the twelve stars of the European flag.

Background on the topic

The Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics was established in 1990 in Nicosia as a non-profit institution. Its approach combines medical care for patients with laboratory examinations and research. The focus is on diseases of the nervous system as well as diseases caused or influenced by changes in the genetic material. These include neuromuscular diseases, hereditary metabolic disorders and certain forms of intellectual or physical developmental disorders.

This combination of neurology and genetics reflects a development in modern medicine: numerous neurological conditions can only be classified more precisely with the help of molecular genetic or biochemical examinations. A diagnosis can provide information about the course of a disease and is often also relevant for family members. Genetic counselling helps affected families understand inheritance patterns and examination results. The institute therefore brings together medical consultations, specialised diagnostics and scientific work under one organisational roof.

Genetic medicine also has a particular public health background in Cyprus. Some hereditary diseases occur more frequently in the comparatively small island population. The best-known example is beta thalassemia, a congenital disorder affecting the formation of the red blood pigment. Cyprus had already developed systematic programmes for identifying carriers and counselling couples before the institute was founded. The institute added further diagnostic and scientific possibilities to this tradition.

The neuron depicted on the coin is a nerve cell. It receives signals, processes them and transmits them through its projections. Synapses are the points of contact at which information is transferred to other nerve, muscle or gland cells. The motif thus refers directly to neurological work and, at the same time, to research into the biological causes of disease.

The bilingual designation of the country on the coin uses Greek and Turkish, the two official languages of the Republic of Cyprus. The selection of the institute as the coin’s theme places medical research and public healthcare within the context of state commemorative culture. It honours not an individual person, but a scientific and medical institution.