Set of silver coin and medal Tribute to CNB Luboš Charvát with motif of Tatra 603 2023 Proof

Tribute to Luboš Charvát of the Czech National Bank

The Czech National Bank commemorative set, issued in 2023, commemorates the legacy of Luboš Charvát, an important Czech medallist and author of a number of Czech coin designs. The set of two coins draws on the theme of the Famous Means of Transport series and presents a realised design by Petra Brodská and a design by Luboš Charvát, which became his last coinage work. The silver five-hundred-crown coin and medal is dedicated to the Tatra 603 passenger car.
The Czech National Bank released only 1,000 sets of the total mintage of 2,000 pieces for sale to contractual partners.

Silver coin designed by Petra Brodská

The reverse side of the five hundredth crown is horizontally divided into two halves. The upper part depicts a Tatra 603 passenger car from an oblique view. The lower part of the coin shows a technical drawing of the car from the side view and part of the technical drawing of the car from the top view. The side view of the car consists of a silver insert with black coating (999/1000 fineness, weight 1.1 g). At the upper edge of the coin are the texts 'TATRA 603' and '2023' separated by a dot. The lower left half of the coin features the car's mark in the form of the manufacturer's emblem. The initials of the author of the coin are placed at the right edge.

The obverse side of the coin depicts a Tatra 603 passenger car from a frontal view. The upper part of the coin shows a part of the dashboard including the steering wheel. The text 'CZECH' is placed at the left edge of the coin and the text 'REPUBLIC' at the bottom edge of the coin. The lower half of the coin is depicted as a tile floor. The denomination of the coin with the abbreviation of the monetary unit '500 CZK' is located at the right edge of the coin.

Silver medal designed by Luboš Charvát - 3rd prize of the competition and the last medal work of the author

The original design was modified for the medal's requirements. Compared to the submitted design, the nominal value of 500 CZK as an attribute of legal tender is missing.

The reverse side of the medal depicts a Tatra 603 passenger car from a side perspective. The background of the coin ingeniously reveals the technical processing of the functional parts of the car. The upper part of the coin features the inverse inscription TATRA 603. The description in the right part of the coin states the year of issue "2023". It includes the mint mark of the designer, the hallmark of purity and the mint logo.

The obverse side of the coin consists of several views of the overall form of the car. The upper part is dominated by a view of the roof and bonnet with an inscription indicating the country of origin "CZECH REPUBLIC". An interesting detail is the wing from the car company logo, used between 1935 and 1950. In the centre of the coin field, the characteristic silhouette of the body from the side view catches the eye. The front and rear views are located below and are cropped by the line of the lower edge of the coin.

Luboš Charvát

Born on 30 August 1954 in Pilsen. Already in his childhood he turned his manual dexterity into a hobby of gluing models of airplanes and military equipment. His natural talent and precision predestined him to study at the art school and later at the Secondary School of Arts and Crafts in Turnov as a metal engraver. He used his knowledge and potential as an engraver in the Jablonec company Bižuterie. His reputation for exceptional craftsmanship led to an offer of a position as a workshop teacher at the Secondary School of Arts and Crafts in Jablonec nad Nisou.

He has worked as a vocational teacher since 1992. This decision had a major impact on many pupils and students. At the same time, this work enabled him to become acquainted with the possibility of participating in art competitions for artistic designs of commemorative coins announced by the Czech National Bank. The inspiring environment of the school directed him to a new chapter in his professional career as a designer of commemorative coins.

The first breakthrough came in 1993 when he participated in an art competition for the third commemorative coin of the independent Czech Republic, issued by the Czech National Bank on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Allied landings in Normandy. Their cooperation with their colleague Martin Lubas earned them a place in the third round of the final round of the evaluation and a call for a shortlisted competition. In the following years he almost regularly participated in other competitions, but his designs ended up in the first or second rounds. This disappointment did not discourage him, however, and his continued efforts were rewarded by the realization of the reverse side of a coin commemorating the 150th anniversary of the birth of Mikoláš Alš. He followed up his initial success with further work intermittently.

Luboš Charvát created about fifty designs with personality motifs, yet he did not consider himself a portraitist. His strengths lay mainly in technical, architectural, political, military and generally historical subjects. His work was characterised by an eye for incredible detail, which could only be matched by the academic painter Vladimír Pavlica among the modern creators of our coins.

The CNB counted Luboš Charvát's participation in 137 art competitions for Czech commemorative coins. Fourteen coins, one reverse side and thirteen complete pairs of obverse and reverse sides were produced according to his design between 2002 and 2021. Through his work and approach, he became an important personality of Czech coinage. He is rightly credited with contributions in the field of pedagogy and medal making that can inspire future generations. Luboš Charvát died after a long and serious illness on 9 February 2022.