The Czech Mint closes a miniseries of commemorative coins entitled Alchemists. Bavor Rodovský of Hustířany is the fourth and last Renaissance scholar, who has been presented in pure gold.

The Prague Imperial Court attracted alchemists from all corners of Europe, but just two Englishmen and one Pole have appeared on coins. However, we would find the predecessors of today's chemists who deal with the laws of matter among our compatriots. Bavor Rodovský of Hustířany and a member of the old Czech dynasty considered to be the most important Czech alchemist. His family was not affluent, so he could not afford to study at university. He studied on his own and surpassed his educated contemporaries in many ways. He spoke several languages and was good at mathematics and astronomy. Above all, he devoted himself to alchemy. He worked for William of Rosenberg and in the court of Rudolf II, where he worked in the Emperor's alchemical laboratory. But his alchemical passion eventually put him in jail for debtors at Prague Castle. However, he continued to study and translate important alchemical writings. Since 1580 he worked at Budyně Castle, which belonged to the Lord of Hazmburk, where he could work in the laboratory and continue writing. In his books we find not only mysterious and magical recipes, but also tasty ones. He is the author of one of the oldest Czech cooksbooks.

“Although we know all four Renaissance alchemists from their period depictions, the coins do not contain real portraits. The face in en face position is divided by a vertical line. I used only a half of historical portraits which lack some characteristic details, such as headgear. The other half of each coin has a smooth surface with some of the many symbols used in astronomy, astrology and, of course, alchemy. These used to have more meanings and graphic modifications - the alchemists understood them well in the past although we can no longer read them reliably, ” explains academic sculptor Michal Vitanovský. The obverse side of the coin bears the name and the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, a nominal value of 5 DOLLARS (NZD), and the year of the issue 2019, which means the necessary elements of the Niue Island, which provides the Czech Mint with a license to mint its commemorative coins that are dominated by the sun.

An integral part of the coin is an attractive packaging which is in the style of alchemical notebook. It contains the accompanying text of the author and also an original drawing depicting Bavor Rodovský of Hustířany.