ČNB hat geschrieben: The Renaissance bridge in Stříbro on a CNB gold coin
11 Oct 2011
The Czech National Bank is today putting into circulation a CZK 5,000 gold coin depicting the Renaissance bridge in Stříbro. The issuing of this gold coin completes the first year of the five-year cycle “Bridges of the Czech Republic”.
“The stone bridge in Stříbro across the River Mže was part of the town’s fortifications and is dominated by a bridge tower. It is the second-oldest bridge in the current gold coin cycle. It has been included among the ten bridges depicted on the gold coins of the cycle for its architectural and historical value,” said CNB Board member Pavel Řežábek, who oversees the activities of the Cash and Payment Systems Department.
The bridge, with its characteristic tower and statue of St. John of Nepomuk, is depicted on the reverse side of the coin. The obverse side is filled with the sgrafitto decoration of the bridge gate along with a composition of heraldic animals from the large national coat-of-arms and the coat-of-arms of the town of Stříbro. Like the first coin of the “Bridges of the Czech Republic” cycle, this coin was designed by the sculptor Zbyněk Fojtů.
The half-ounce coin is minted from 999.9 purity gold in two quality versions. A total of 2,700 pieces are being sold in normal quality, and 7,300 pieces are proof quality coins with a polished field and a matt relief.
The 60-meter-long and 5.8-meter-wide bridge was constructed from sandstone blocks as part of the fortification of Stříbro in 1555–1560. It served as the access route into the town from Prague and Plzeň. The route then continued westwards as a medieval trail. The bridge was used for road transport until 2000, but is now pedestrianised.
The cycle “Bridges of the Czech Republic” follows the previous successful cycles “Ten Centuries of Architecture” and “Industrial Heritage Sites”. It will present a total of ten important Czech bridges on CZK 5,000 gold coins in 2011–2015. Coins featuring the Gothic bridge in Písek and the Renaissance bridge in Stříbro have been issued in 2011.
CZ_2011_BS_AU.jpg
In the first half of 2011, the Czech National Bank started to issue a new cycle of gold coins, devoted to bridges in the Czech Republic. The second coin of this cycle will be issued on 11 October 2011. It depicts the 16th-century Renaissance bridge across the Mže River in Stříbro, which has a dominant bridge tower.
The design of the coin was selected in an unlimited anonymous competition, for which 21 designers submitted a total of 28 plaster models. The models were judged by the Commission for the Evaluation of Designs for Czech Banknotes and Coins, with Miroslav Nenutil, Mayor of Stříbro, as expert adviser. The design by Zbyněk Fojtů won the first prize and was recommended for realisation. Second prize was awarded to the design by Jiří Harcuba and third prize went to the design by Martin Dašek. The CNB Bank Board endorsed the Commission’s decision and approved the realisation of the coin designed by Zbyněk Fojtů, who thus repeated his victory in the competition for the previous Gothic bridge in Písek coin.
The Czech Mint has minted the coins from 999.9 purity gold in two quality versions (normal and proof) differing in surface treatment and edge marking. Proof-quality coins have a highly polished field, a matt relief and a plain edge, while normal quality coins have milled edges. The coin has a diameter of 28 mm, a weight of 15.55 g and a thickness of 1.9 mm.
The obverse side of the coin depicts a composition of heraldic animals from the large national coat-of-arms and the Renaissance coat-of-arms of the town of Stříbro from the bridge tower. The background is filled with the sgraffito decoration of the bridge gate. The name of the state, the denomination and the name of the cycle “MOSTY” are situated in a shield above the coat-of-arms. The mark of the Czech Mint is at the lower edge of the coin. The reverse side of the coin depicts a bird’s eye view of the bridge with its characteristic tower and the historical form of the statue of St. John of Nepomuk. The text contains the name of the bridge, the year of mintage and the initials “ZF” of the designer of the coin, Zbyněk Fojtů.
Each coin comes with a red catalogue card containing a description and the relief of the coin.