Bimetallic Coin 2000 CZK 100th Anniversary of the Czechoslovak Crown 2019 Standard

Commemorative Bimetallic 2 000 CZK Coin - Extraordinary mintage
100th Anniversary of the Czechoslovak Crown

On the reverse side of the coin, the reverse side of the first Czechoslovak koruna coin from 1922 is depicted in the centre on a gold inlay. The silver intercircle bears the text "CZECHOSLOVAK CROWN" and the years "1919-2019". The text and the years are separated by dots. Between the gold inlay and the intercircle is the text 'I AM CUT FROM CZECH GOLD', before the word 'I AM' is the initial of the author Jiří Hanuš, DiS., which is formed by the letter 'H' in a frame.

On the obverse side of the coin there is a partial portrait of Alois Rashin in the form of a banknote engraving. The name of the state 'CZECH REPUBLIC' and the denomination of the monetary unit '2 000 CZK' are placed in the intercircle around the perimeter of the coin. The name of the state and the denomination with the abbreviation of the monetary unit are separated by a dot on the left and the Czech Mint mark on the right, which is formed by the letters 'Č' and 'M'.

The first Czechoslovak currency

The Czechoslovak koruna was established by Act No. 84 of 25 February 1919, on the basis of which between 3 and 19 March 1919 the Austro-Hungarian banknotes were withdrawn and exchanged for the new Czechoslovak stamp notes, which were gradually replaced until July 1920. The first currency of the new state was the 100 koruna state note of 15 April 1919. The first coins were the 20 and 50 penny with the year of mintage 1921 issued in February 1922. The first koruna coin was also released into circulation in 1922. The first real banknote (not a state note) was the 20 koruna with the date 1 October 1926, but it did not enter circulation until March 1927.

On 14 April 1920, the law on the Cedula Bank was passed, which preceded the creation of the Central Bank, which was not finally established until 21 March 1926 and did not start its activities until 1 April 1926. The first governor was Vilém Pospíšil, who was by then the chief director of the Municipal Savings Bank of Prague and was also a friend of Alois Rašín and a leading financial expert in the country.

After the Second World War, a currency reform was implemented on 1 November 1945, which solved the problem that too many currencies were circulating in Czechoslovakia - in addition to the five currencies (Protectorate, Reichsmark, Slovak, Hungarian and Polish), there were also various military vouchers. Moreover, this reform was coupled with the nationalisation of banks and enterprises under the Benes decrees. The situation was partially stabilised, but the country remained in economic chaos due to nationalisation and the new status of key industrial firms. After February 1948, further nationalisation of industry took place.

The next currency reform came on 1 June 1953. The new Czechoslovak koruna was exchanged at a ratio of 1:5 for amounts up to CZK 300 (old); higher amounts were exchanged at a ratio of 1:50. In addition, Czechoslovakia ceased to be a member of the IMF and the World Bank, which it had co-founded in 1944, at the end of 1954. After the currency reform in 1953, most people were impoverished and prices began to rise. By the end of the 1950s, the situation had stabilised, but it became clear that centrally managed policies were beginning to show significant economic weaknesses. The 1960s saw the liberalisation of conditions in Czechoslovakia, but this was halted by the Soviet invasion in August 1968. Then came normalisation, when the whole economy was detached from real developments in the world and the gradual isolation of the Czechoslovak economy took place. Inflation was on the rise, which the government hid with currency subsidies and the isolation of the koruna against other currencies. The economic problems of the centrally controlled economy were one of the reasons for the collapse of the communist regime in the Czechoslovakia in November 1989 and the Velvet Revolution.

On January 1, 1993, the Czech and Slovak Federative Republics were divided into two separate states, and on February 8, 1993, the Czechoslovak koruna ceased to exist. The exchange ratio to the successor currencies was 1:1. These became the Czech koruna and the Slovak koruna, which was replaced in Slovakia by the euro on 1 January 2009.