2019 - Niue 1 NZD Silver Coin On Wheels - Truck Tatra Kopřivnice - Proof

On Wheels

The NW truck, one of the first cars of its kind in the world, was built in the future Tatra Kopřivnice in 1898. 120 years have passed in 2019 since he was introduced to the public, and the Czech Mint created the second silver coin from the set On Wheels on this occasion.

The company named NW - Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau-Fabriks-Gesellschaft, called Kopřivnice Road in Czech language - entered the history by producing the first passenger car with a combustion engine in Central Europe. The Moravian-Silesian town soon gained the same leadership in the field of trucks. The cab-over-engine truck, which stood at the very beginning of a long line of world-renowned Tatra vehicles, had a payload of 2.5 tons. More than anything else, it looked like a railway wagon (the company was engaged in its production) and it was steered by a lever instead of a steering wheel. The advanced design of the car included a propulsion unit consisting of two identical two-cylinder four-stroke Benz engines with a total volume of 5,428 cm3. The combined horsepower was 9.72 kW - 13.2 hp - at 600 rpm. The dual power solution was apparently enforced by the absence of engines with higher power. It was possible to operate the engines gradually depending on the size of the load, but only the left engine was sufficient for economical smooth-running. The original wagon has unfortunately not been preserved to this day, but a replica was produced on the basis of periodicals in 1979. At least it is a proof of a revolutionary Czech product with a number of advanced technical features, many of which have been used after decades of trucks development.

Depiction of the truck on the reverse side of the coin, which was made by the medal maker MgA Martin Dašek, is supplemented by inscription NW - TRUCK. The detail of the reed wheel is another motif of the reverse side. Similarly, the obverse side of the coin bears the circumference made of wheels of various means of transport. The coin of the Czech Mint was licensed by a foreign publisher, which is the Niue Island. Therefore it bears its necessary attributes - the portrait and the name of Queen Elizabeth II, the nominal value of 1 DOLLAR (NZD) and the year of the issue 2019.

The coin, which was issued with the official permission of Tatra, includes a spectacular packing containing accompanying text and photographs.