The koruna is to celebrate its 100th anniversary

The Czech currency celebrates its 100th anniversary next year. To mark this special occasion, the Czech National Bank has prepared a set of events and activities to commemorate the history of the koruna and to publicise the work and role of the central bank. The CNB will also issue a heavyweight gold coin and, for the first time in its history, a commemorative banknote.

Although the koruna’s anniversary falls in 2019, the celebrations of this occasion will start this year, in which we commemorate the centennial of the founding of Czechoslovakia. The CNB, in partnership with the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, is announcing a competition for primary and secondary school pupils to design a commemorative CZK 100 banknote as the first of the planned events.

“This competition gives school pupils an opportunity to be involved in celebrating the anniversary of the Czechoslovak koruna. They can try their hand at designing a commemorative banknote and, in doing so, learn more about the currency which has been part of our everyday life for 100 years,”said CNB Governor Jiří Rusnok.

Pupils can compete in three age categories to win prizes directly connected with the production of Czech banknotes and coins. The terms and conditions of the competition are available on the CNB website. The prizes for winners include the first ever commemorative banknote, a visit to the State Printing Office and the Czech Mint and participation in a discussion with the designer of the commemorative coin. The winning designs will be displayed at the CNB’s “100 years of the koruna” exhibition, which will be held at Prague Castle in spring 2019. This exhibition will give the public an opportunity to view, for example, gold bars, coins and medals, original designs of Czechoslovak banknotes by Alphonse Mucha, Max Švabinský, Karel Svolinský and others, and rare Czechoslovak notes and coins.

Other activities planned as part of the celebrations include the publication of a book presenting milestones in the history of the Czech currency. The CNB will also organise an international conference and will hold an Open Day at its Prague Headquarters for the first time in three years. Jan Solpera has also created a special anniversary version of his CNB logo to mark the occasion.

The CNB will provide information about the celebrations on a special “100 years of the koruna” web page, which will provide additional information about the events on an ongoing basis. As the anniversary approaches, Czech Television (the general media partner) and Czech Radio (the main media partner) will join the information campaign.

Join us at the events commemorating the centennial of the koruna and celebrate with us.

Marek Zeman
Director, CNB Communications Division