Gold ducat - Restrike of Charles IV ducat 2026 stand

The restrike of the Charles IV ducat from 1979 follows in the footsteps of previous Charles IV replicas produced by the Czech Mint.

When Charles IV died in 1378, he left behind a great legacy. He gave his people a renowned university, a cathedral, a stone bridge, royal cities, royal castles, and the crown jewels. Last but not least, he also introduced a new gold currency—the ducat—which was then used in the heart of Europe for centuries… In 1978, on the occasion of the 600th anniversary of the king’s death, the so-called Charles IV ducats were minted in his memory. For the Czechoslovak State Bank, they were minted in socialist Czechoslovakia by the State Mint in Kremnica, where in the jubilee year of 1978 not only 1-ducats, but also 2-ducats, 5-ducats, and 10-ducats were produced. The minting of the 1-ducat coin continued in the years 1979, 1980, 1981, and 1982. While the mintage of the first year’s issue totaled 20,000 1-ducat coins, subsequent editions were issued in half that number, 10,000 pieces per year. The main reason for the creation of these gold coins was revenue from sales both domestically and abroad. However, a combination of an inflexible pricing policy—which failed to respond to fluctuations in the price of gold—and the subsequent fall of the regime meant that interest was not as high as expected. In 1997, the stock of Charles IV ducats, which bore the obsolete coat of arms of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, was officially destroyed, and partly because of this, the coins that have survived today are among the numismatic highlights…

The reverse side of the new issue features a three-quarter portrait of the monarch, a shield with the Czech lion, the Gothic initial K, the name CHARLES IV, and the dates 1346–1378, when Luxembourg was King of Bohemia and the Holy Roman Empire and later also Holy Roman Emperor. The obverse side bears the coat of arms of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic and the year 1979. The replica of the ducat coin, based on the original design by medallist Petr Formánek, was created by medallist Mária Filová.

The new minting has a limited mintage of just 300 pieces and adheres to the specifications of the original. To prevent confusion, it differs from the original by the small text “R–2026.”