Coinage of the Czech Republic

[<k>]

Prague, capital of the Czech Republic.

From Wikipedia:

The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It has a hilly landscape that covers an area of 78,866 square kilometers (30,450 sq mi). It is a unitary parliamentary republic, with 10.7 million inhabitants. Its capital and largest city is Prague, with 1.3 million residents; other major cities include Brno, Ostrava, Olomouc and Pilsen.

[<k>]

The location of the Czech Republic within Europe.

Map of  the Czech Republic.

[<k>]

Flag of the Czech Republic.

From Wikipedia:

The national flag of the Czech Republic is the same as the flag of former Czechoslovakia. Upon the dissolution of Czechoslovakia, the Czech Republic kept the Czechoslovak flag while Slovakia adopted its own flag. The first flag of Czechoslovakia was based on the flag of Bohemia and was white over red. This was almost identical to the flag of Poland (only the proportion was different), so a blue triangle was added at the hoist in 1920.

[<k>]

The greater coat of arms of the Czech Republic.

From Wikipedia:

The arms of Bohemia show a silver double-tailed lion on a red background. This Bohemian Lion makes up the first and the fourth quarters of the greater coat of arms, so it is repeated in the shield. The Moravian red-and-silver chequered eagle is shown on a blue background. Between 1915 and 1918 the Moravian Eagle was chequered in the red-and-gold colors. The arms of Silesia feature a black eagle, with the so-called "clover stalk" on its breast, on a golden background. Only a small south-eastern part of the historical region (Czech Silesia) still belongs to the Czech Republic - the main part is now in Poland.

[<k>]

After World War II, the Soviet Union used its influence to subvert Czechoslovakia from within. In 1948 the Communist Party within Czechoslovakia launched a coup d'etat. From that point the country became part of the Warsaw Pact, essentially a satellite state of the Soviet Union.

By the 1980s, the centrally managed neo-Stalinist Soviet economy was failing. The attempts of President Gorbachev of the USSR to liberalise it only seemed to make matters worse. By 1989 he had decided that the Soviet Union could no longer afford to keep its Soviet empire within central and eastern Europe. With his tacit approval, a series of revolutions took place in those countries, in which the Communist parties were forced out of power. In some cases there was violence, most notably in Romania, but in Czechoslovakia the process was relatively peaceful, earning it the name of the Velvet Revolution.

By early December the Czechoslovak Communist regime had gone. Alexander Dubček was elected speaker of the federal parliament on December 28 and Václav Havel the President of Czechoslovakia on December 29, 1989. In June 1990, Czechoslovakia held its first democratic elections since 1946. The Czechoslovak Socialist Republic ceased to exist, and the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic was the official name of Czecho-Slovakia from April 1990 until 31 December 1992.

[<k>]

The text below comes from a UK Treasury document of 2013.

In 1992 Czecho-Slovakia agreed to split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia. The split came into effect on 1 January 1993. After the political split, the two states attempted to preserve monetary and economic union. Monetary union was planned to last at least six months, but was conditional. Either side could withdraw if fiscal deficits or transfers of private capital between the two countries exceeded preset limits, or if the shared monetary policy committee failed to agree a common policy. But with an uncertain political commitment and no fiscal transfers, the currency union lacked credibility. Thirty-three days after independence the monetary union failed.

During late 1992 and throughout January 1993, capital flowed from Slovakia to the Czech Republic in anticipation of a currency split and a Slovakian devaluation (as deposit-holders transferred their wealth from Slovakia to the Czech Republic to avoid deposits being redenominated into a less valuable currency). Therefore the Czech government decided on 19 January to separate the currency. Secret negotiations with Slovakia led to a date for separation being set for 8 February. The separation was publicly announced on 2 February, with capital controls implemented to stop any capital transfers. During the separation period (4-7 February) the old currency was exchanged, with the new currency becoming valid on 8 February. Regular Czechoslovak banknotes were temporarily used, with a paper stamp attached to mark whether the notes were Czech or Slovak. During this transition thousands of Slovaks crossed the Czech border to have their old notes stamped as Czech. Stamped banknotes were gradually replaced with new Czech and Slovak banknotes, with the process finishing by August.

[<k>]

From Wikipedia:

The Czech koruna replaced the Czechoslovak koruna when it was introduced in 1993, after the dissolution of Czechoslovakia. It first consisted of overstamped 20-, 50-, 100-, 500-, and 1000-Czechoslovak koruna banknotes, but a new series was properly introduced in 1993. The coins were in denominations of 10, 20 and 50 haléřů, 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 korun.

[<k>]

The 10 haléřů coin was the lowest denomination of the series. The obverse showed the Czech lion, with the mint mark of the Czech Mint between its feet.

[<k>]

The reverse of the 10 haléřů coin featured a stylised representation of the Vltava river, which flows through Prague. The design is reminiscent of that of the 10 haléřů coin of Czechoslovakia in the 1930s. Meanwhile, the coin itself was made of aluminium.

[<k>]

The 20 haléřů coin was also made of aluminium. It had a heptagonal inner rim that helped to distinguish it from the 10 haléřů coin.

The 20 haléřů coin featured a slightly different version of the lion on the obverse.

The reverse design featured the linden leaf within the zero of the denomination. The linden (lime tree) leaf is a Czech national symbol.

[<k>]

From May 1998 an amended version of the 20 haléřů coin was issued. The reverse design now pointed downward within the heptagon, and the large denominational numeral was also slightly different in shape.

[<k>]

Yet a different version of the lion appeared on the obverse of the aluminium 50 haléřů coin.

The initials of the designer, Vladimír Oppl, appeared on the reverse.

[<k>]

From Wikipedia:

The 10- and 20-haléřů coins were taken out of circulation by 31 October 2003 and the 50-haléřů coins by 31 August 2008 due to their diminishing purchasing power and circulation.[9] However, financial amounts are still written with the accuracy of 1-haléř (CZK 0.01); prices in retail shops are usually multiples of CZK 0.10. When transactions are made, the amount is rounded to the nearest integer.

[<k>]

Yet another version of the Czech lion appears on the 1 koruna coin, which is nowadays the lowest denomination still in circulation in the Czech Republic.

The coin is made of nickel-plated steel.

The reverse designs features a stylised version of the St. Wenceslas crown.

The image below is courtesy of coinz.eu. The site is well worth a visit. It famously insists that every coin has three sides, not just two, and it therefore always shows the third side, namely the edge.

[<k>]

The 2 korun coin is eleven-sided and made of nickel-plated steel. The reverse depicts a Great Moravian button-jewel.