Set of four gold coins 2017 War Year 1942 Proof

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War year 1942

75 years have passed since the events of 1942 and on this occasion the Czech Mint is issuing a traditional set of four gold half-ounce coins from the free cycle War Year. It is no exaggeration to say that this year was decisive for the outcome of the greatest conflict in human history.

In 1942, World War II consumed the entire planet:

- The United States finally took an active role in the fight and pulled out against the Japanese forces rampaging in the Pacific. The Japanese wanted to show their superiority at an atoll called Midway, but instead of teaching the American Navy a lesson, they lost all their aircraft carriers and never recovered from that loss.

- Britain's troops fought a protracted war in North Africa against the elite forces of the German Afrikakorps, and at the Egyptian town of El Alamein the victor was finally to be decided. One of the greatest tank battles of all time was unleashed, and the Nazi plans to dominate the black continent were finally scuppered.

- World War II was now in its third year, and the United States was determined to find a way to end it as soon as possible. So it launched the top-secret Manhattan Project, a scientific project to develop a weapon so devastating that its very existence would deter the nations of the world from further thoughts of war. That weapon was the atomic bomb.

- The deadly confrontation between the armies of Nazi Germany and the Red Army came to Stalingrad. The city on the Volga was not only a strategic hub, but also a symbol of Soviet defiance. The Soviets held on, won the biggest battle in history, where every room was fought for, and marched west, stopping only in Berlin.

The author of all four detailed coins is Luboš Charvát, an experienced medallist and teacher. The reverse sides of the coins bear the following war scenes - an American Dauntless dive bomber attacking the Japanese aircraft carrier Akagi; a British M3 Lee tank defeating a German Panzer IV armoured vehicle; the first three atomic weapons in history - Trinity, Little Boy and Fat Man - lying in front of the Manhattan Project logo; a German soldier attacking a Soviet T 34/76 tank. The composition of each reverse is complemented by the flag of the winning side and a description in the respective language - English (Battle of Midway, Manhattan Project), Arabic (Battle of El Alamein) and Russian (Battle of Stalingrad). The obverse side is common to the four coins - it belongs to the attributes of the island of Niue (the issuer that provides the Czech Mint with a licence to mint its own coins), i.e. the name and portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, the year of issue 2017 and the face value of 25 DOLLARS (NZD). The obverse relief is complemented by five helmets belonging to the nations that appear on the coins - German, American, Soviet, British and Japanese.

The set of four coins is housed in a stylish tin box - the illustration on the lid depicts silhouettes of American naval gunners during the Pacific campaign.