Silver Medal National Heroes - Jan Patočka - Proof

The Collector's series of silver medals will gradually introduce fourteen national heroes. The first freedom fighter, whom the Czech Mint pays tribute to, is the philosopher Jan Patočka.

Jan Patočka dedicated to the philosophy, especially phenomenologically oriented, all his life. Besides pondering over the human existence, however, he managed to push through his ideas into practice. Two years before his death he said, that intellectual has three options  during the Communist dictatorship - an internal emigration as Platon, the way of compromises as the Sophists, and consistent life in truth, which results in a Socratic conflict with power and death. Jan Patočka has chosen the third option  regardless of the consequences. At the request of Václav Havel he has supported a petition in support of the persecuted rock group The Plastic People of the Universe, and with him and Jiří Hájek became the first spokesmen for Charter 77. Through it Patočka then made contact with the West. His liberal activities could not overlook the National security. The great philosopher was subjected to a hard interrogation, which caused a seizure of stroke and death. He did not reach peace even in eternity - his funeral in 1977, became a confrontation with the totalitarian regime, which wanted to prevent a dignified farewell to the people with the victim's tyranny.

The artistic layout of the medal is the work of a leading academic sculptor Jiří Dostál. Both sides of the mintage carry the philosophical subtext. Portrait on the obverse side emits light symbolizing Patočkas moral example and the reverse side also shows a confrontation between light and darkness. The reverse is also working with symbolic numeral three. An ancient column with three flutes characterizes a significant existential thesis of three basic movements, and expresses Patočka relationship to the Greek philosophers. Another three elements, that are present in the composition, then recall that a spokesmen for the Charter 77 were always three. Texts on both sides of the medal state FILOSOF JAN PATOČKA – 1907-1977 – EXISTUJÍ VĚCI, PRO KTERÉ STOJÍ ZA TO ŽÍT and BOJOVNÍK ZA LIDSKÁ PRÁVA – MLUVČÍ CHARTY 77 – HISTORIE NENÍ POHLED, NÝBRŽ ODPOVĚDNOST. /Philosopher Jan Patočka - 1907-1977 - There are things that make life worth living and Human rights activists - Spokesmen of Charter 77/

A professional consultant and sponsor of the project the National Heroes is PhDr. Petr Koura, Ph.D., an expert on modern Czech history. In an epic package, that takes the form of a book with cover, you'll find its thematic treatises and much more