2022 - Niue 5 NZD Gold Coin Armored Vehicles - T-34/76 - Proof

Armored vehicles

The second gold coin of the Czech Mint from the series Armoured vehicles features the Soviet tank T-34/76, which served during World War II.

Prototypes of the T-34/76 tank, developed by the design bureau of the Kharkov locomotive factory, were introduced in early 1940. They successfully passed demanding tests and the satisfied Soviet leadership ordered production. When the Third Reich attacked the Soviet Union in June 1941, the encounter with the tanks, whose existence had been kept secret, surprised the Germans. For the Nazi command had assumed that the enemy had only light tanks or clumsy multi-tower monsters at its disposal. Instead of that, the German tankers faced to a fast, easily maneuverable, yet well armored machine whose sloping armor provided twice the protection of the thickness of the steel plates used. Although the missiles literally bounced off them, the T-34/76 tanks suffered significant losses due to the surprise of the German advance, the inexperience of Soviet crews, mistakes by Red Army commanders, and poor logistics. However, according to the famous wisdom, one learns by making mistakes - the continuously upgraded T-34 medium tank became the best armoured tank of World War II.

The reverse side of the commemorative coin, which is the work of medal maker Luboš Charvát, presents two depictions of the Soviet tank - the three-quarter view is accompanied by a side silhouette. An inscription of the T-34/76 and a detail of the tank belt complete the composition. The belts can also be found on the obverse side of the coin, which is common to the entire tank series. As the licence to issue commemorative coins of the Czech Mint is granted by the Pacific island of Niue, the obverse side bears its necessary attributes - the name and portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, the nominal value of 5 DOLLARS (NZD) and the year of issue 2022.

The coin is stored in a spectacular packaging in the form of a catalogue card full of period photographs, interesting facts and tactical-technical data. Individual cards can be stored in a collector's binder that you can also find in the offer of the Czech Mint.