Set of two Thalers Royal Couples - Charles IV. and Anna Svídnická - Proof

Royal couples

The second issue from the historical cycle the Royal Couple of the Czech Mint was set in the time of the Father of Homeland. A pair of silver tolars commemorate Charles IV. and Anna of Schweidnitz.

Charles IV. was married four times. These were classical medieval dynastic marriages, and so the choice of the bride always played a central role in diplomacy. In the case of the third wife of Anna Schweidnitz, the king wanted to gain control over Schweidnitz territory that was the last independent Silesian principality that had not been controlled by the Luxembourgers. However, the monarch was probably motivated even stronger. He wished a successor to the throne he had not got in his previous two marriages. The young queen did not disappoint her husband and gave him a long-awaited male heir - the future King Wenceslas IV. The birth of a son was a personal event, but his birth was monitored by all of Europe.

The common obverse side of tolars bears details of monarchal faces. "The time portraits of Charles IV. and Anna of Schweidnitz remained well preserved. Two of them come from the same time and are painted by the same hand. They belong to a unique line of stone portraits in the triforium of the St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague. In the case of the emperor, there are many other portraits on frescoes, in book painting, on seals and coins, " explains the author of the cycle, academic sculptor Michal Vitanovský. The reversed side of the tolar is dedicated to the king and presents the semi-structure of Charles IV. with royal insignia and inscription WE COME FROM THE OLD CZECH KINGS DYNASTY. "This is a quote from VITA CAROLI's biography, in which the King personally portrays his way through life until 1340 and clarifies the role of sovereign in the world at that time," adds the medal maker. The reverse side of Queen´s tolar was dedicated to the moment of her son's baptism. The scene of the religious ceremony is supplemented by the inscription EMPRESS ANNA - MOTHER OF THE SUCCESSOR TO THE THRONE, together with the birth year of Wenceslas IV. in 1361.

A set of two tolars is stored in an elegant wooden box whose cap is decorated with figures of the king and queen as chess pieces. The packaging includes an illustrated certificate of authenticity with the accompanying word of the author.