Commemorative banknote 100 CZK Banknote printing house of the National Bank of Czechoslovakia

The fifth commemorative banknote issued by the Czech National Bank, with a nominal value of 100 CZK, commemorates the 100th anniversary of the commencement of operations at the Czechoslovak National Bank’s Banknote Printing Works in Prague.

The Czechoslovak Republic was established on the ruins of Austria-Hungary in 1918, but it had to wait for its own currency. The Czechoslovak crown was not declared the currency of the new state until a law was passed in 1919. After an initial phase during which Austro-Hungarian banknotes bearing Czechoslovak revenue stamps were used, the creation of original Czechoslovak currency quickly began. The printing process was rushed primarily due to the prevalence of counterfeit revenue stamps and the first issue of banknotes thus suffered from a number of teething problems. The banknotes were artistically and technically inconsistent, as the designs by several Czech, Austrian, and American artists were printed at two foreign and six domestic printing plants. It is therefore no surprise that a decision was made to establish a specialized state banknote printing plant. It was built between 1924 and 1927. Operations began there in January 1928, and by December it already had 133 employees. It quickly ranked among the absolute best in Europe, as evidenced by an award from the International Exhibition of Art and Technology in Paris for the production of the 1,000 crown banknote designed by Max Švabinský. In 1950, the Printing house of the National Bank of Czechoslovakia was incorporated as a division of the central bank. On July 1, 1953, a new independent enterprise was established under the name State Security Printing Works, which continues to print banknotes to this day…

The issuance of commemorative banknotes was authorized by a special law, and their exclusive manufacturer is the Prague-based State Printing Office for Securities.