Silver Coin 200 CZK Issue of Klaudyán's Map 500th Anniversary 2018 Proof

Publication of Klaudyán's map - 500th anniversary

The reverse side of the bicentenary depicts the map part of Klaudyán's map. The text "KLAUDYÁN'S MAP" appears at the upper edge of the coin in an unsealed description. Below this text are the years "1518" and "2018" in two lines. The initials of the author of the coin, the academic sculptor Zbyněk Fojtů, which consist of a composition of the letters "F" and "Z", are placed at the left edge of the bicrown.

On the obverse side of the bicentenary, the motif from Claudian's map is depicted, which is an allegorical chariot with passengers pulled by two chariots on opposite sides. In the lower part of the coin field are the emblems of the Kingdom of Hungary and the Kingdom of Bohemia, in the background of which are the emblems of the Rosenbergs and Slavs on the left and the emblems of the Sternbergs and the Švihovskis of Rýzmberk on the right. At the upper edge of the coin in an unsealed description is the name of the state 'CZECH REPUBLIC'. The denomination of the coin with the abbreviation of the monetary unit '200 CZK' is located at the bottom edge of the coin. The Czech Mint's mark consisting of the letters 'Č' and 'M' is located at the left edge of the 200 crown.

The Klaudián map (also spelled Klaudyán map) is the oldest printed map of Bohemia, published in 1518 by the Mladá Boleslav physician and publisher Mikuláš Klaudián. The map was conceived as an aid for pilgrims travelling to Rome, so for practical reasons it is oriented (in accordance with the customs of the time) to the south.

The entire sheet measures 1260 × 640 mm. The uppermost part of the map is made up of the coats of arms of the Principality of Silesia, the Principality of Moravia, the Kingdom of Dalmatia, the Kingdom of Hungary, the Kingdom of Bohemia, the Kingdom of Croatia, the Principality of Luxembourg and the Principality of Lusatia (a red bull on a silver field). In the centre of these coats of arms is their ruler, Louis of Jagiellon. Below the monarch are isosceles scales, symbolizing justice, on a pyramid where the types of justice are listed. In the remaining space around the pyramid are fourteen moralizing illustrations from scripture.

The lower part of the sheet is filled with the coats of arms of prominent nobles, representatives of the provincial and chamber courts, and others. The bottom three coats of arms belong to Kutná Hora, Prague and Žatec. In the section above the map there are two engravings - an occupied wagon being hitched from both sides and a commercial wagon being ambushed by robbers. There is also a mention of the author and date.

The actual map of Bohemia makes up only the lower third of the sheet. There is a second mention of the date and authors in the upper left corner, with their coats of arms below the monograms and the year of publication 1518. The scale of the map varies between 1 : 637 000 - 1 : 685 000. In addition to the names on the map, Claudian had special symbols carved: for cities, crowns or hints of coats of arms to distinguish lordly and royal cities, and chalices or crossed keys to distinguish Utraquist and Catholic cities. Castles were distinguished by turrets and villages by simple circles. The Czech typographer František Muzika noticed that the Czech language texts in the map are printed in a kind of primitive antique and Italic (with distinct Gothic or Neo-Gothic features), which represents one of the earliest evidences of the use of antiquity for the Czech language.

Each silver coin is stored in a protective plastic capsule and placed in a dark blue box along with a certificate of authenticity from the CNB.