History of Czech Coins - First Czech Gold Coins - Standard

History of Czech Coins

The fourth replica from the cycle "History of Czech coins" will tell you the story of the first Czech gold coin - florin. Gold was a symbol of prestige in the Middle Ages, and the Czech lands, which had worked with silver, could not be left behind the rest of Europe…

The Luxembourg family gained the Czech throne, when the murderer ended the rule of the Přemyslids. King John of Bohemia became famous as the greatest of all knights throughout Europe. The right knight had to be brave, generous, and he was also not allowed to save money. John was a real champion in that. He had a lot of silver groschens from the Kutná Hora mines, but that wasn't enough. He needed to dazzle with gold, so he minted the first Czech gold coin – florin. The coin did not look like a czech coin. It was minted according to well-known coins from Florence. Therefore, it carried the lily and St. John the Baptist - the emblem and patron of the Italian city. John of Bohemia added his name and a small Czech lion ... Florin coins were not intended for the Marketplace, bcause people paid with silver coins. However, they were used for international trade and representation, so that everyone in the world could see how rich the Czech King was. … Even though Czech florin was soon replaced by more famous gold ducat, it will never loose its historical primacy.

The replica of John of Bohemia´s florin, processed by the academic sculptor Jan Lukáš, is made of silver and gilded to get its medieval look.

The mintage is stored in the illustrated three-dimensional pop-up book. Thanks to the unmistakable presentation of Lucie Seifertová you will learn many interesting facts about the role of gold in the medieval world. You can store a complete seven-part cycle of historical coin replicas in a practical collector´s box. The schedule of issuance of individual replicas is not limited.