CNB commemorative coin to mark the 25th anniversary of 17 November 1989

The Czech National Bank is putting into circulation a commemorative silver coin to mark the 25th anniversary of the events of 17 November 1989. The CZK 200 coin will go on sale on 12 November 2014.

The obverse side features the Czech lion from the national coat-of-arms of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, which is depicted behind bars, bearing a shield with a silhouette of Kriváň mountain and a bonfire on its chest. Below the figure of the lion are the years “1948 – 1989”. The reverse side depicts the Czech lion from the national coat-of-arms of the Czech and Slovak Federative Republic between open bars, bearing a shield with the coat-of-arms of the Slovak Republic on its chest. The designer of the coin is Jiří Hanuš.

The CNB is putting into circulation a total of 20,800 pieces of the coin, 14,900 of which will be proof quality coins with a polished field and a matt relief and 5,900 will be of normal quality. The nominal value of the coin is not its sale price; the latter takes into account, among other things, the current price of silver, production costs and VAT. The coin can be purchased through selected contractual partners.

The Czech National Bank is simultaneously issuing a set comprising a commemorative coin and a medal to mark 17 November. Based on the final design produced by Jiří Harcuba, who died in 2013, the medal is a homage to this leading figure of Czech coin design. The set is issued in a batch of 4,000.

On 17 November 1989, an event was held in the Albertov district of Prague to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the closure of Czech universities during the German occupation. Thousands of people gathered there and then marched into the centre of Prague, where some of them were beaten by riot police. These events significantly contributed to the fall of the Communist regime and the change of the political system to democratic principles.

The CZK 200 coin marking the 25th anniversary of the events of 17 November 1989 is the last of the five coins of this denomination issued by the Czech National Bank this year. The other issues commemorated the foundation of the Czechoslovak legions and the births of several prominent Czech personalities (Bohumil Hrabal, Kryštov Harant of Polžice and Bezdružice and Tomáš Baťa Jr.).

Tomáš Zimmerman, CNB spokesman

Detailed technical information about the commemorative silver coin