Commemorative coin in honor of Ernst Otto Fischer, winner of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry
On the 100th anniversary of TUM professor Ernst Otto Fischer’s birth
In honour of Ernst Otto Fischer, former Professor of Inorganic Chemistry at TUM, and his scientific achievements, the German government is issuing a commemorative 20 euro coin for the “100th anniversary of the birth of Ernst Otto Fischer”. Having successfully synthesized bis(benzene)chromium in 1955, Fischer (1918 to 2007) is regarded as one of the main founders of organometallic chemistry.
Organometallic compounds are complexes in which an organic residue is bound directly to a metal atom. Fischer is best known for his research into organometallic sandwich complexes in which the metal atom is embedded like a slice of cheese between two slices of bread in the middle of two aromatic rings.
Pioneer of organometallic chemistry
With his work, the chemist was the first to shed light on how such a metal-carbon compound is characterized. He thereby ushered in the spread of organometallic chemistry into many research laboratories worldwide. Fischer received the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1973 for his groundbreaking research — together with Geoffrey Wilkinson from Imperial College London, who had carried out similar syntheses independently of Fischer at the same time.
The commemorative coin was designed by the artist Katrin Pannicke from Halle an der Saale. The obverse of the coin shows an artistically transformed model of bis(benzene)chromium. The reverse shows an eagle and the edge of the coin bears the inscription “NATURWISSENSCHAFTEN SIND WEDER GUT NOCH BOESE” (“Natural sciences are neither good nor evil”).
The commemorative coin with a nominal value of 20 euros can be purchased from the Deutsche Bundesbank branches starting on October 11, 2018. Pre-ordering of the coins in proof quality is available as of now at the point of sale for collector’s coins at a price of €34.95 each: