Gold half-ounce medal Bedřich Smetana proof

The year 2024 marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of composer Bedřich Smetana. Therefore, the Czech Mint created a half-ounce gold medal which is part of a free cycle of the most beautiful unrealised designs entered into the Czech National Bank's competition.

Bedřich Smetana was a versatile artist, but also a conscious patriot. No other Czech composer so closely linked his musical output with the national emancipation of his era. This symbiosis, which was in demand at the time, is particularly well expressed in Smetana's best-known works, which any proper Czech can hum - the comic opera The Bartered Bride, the festive opera Libuše and the cycle of symphonic poems My Fatherland (Má vlast). The brilliant composer, whose emotional tones still inspire national pride today, was also a respected music teacher, a rigorous critic and a brilliant pianist. His whole life was devoted to music, but a cruel fate robbed him of his hearing. He succumbed to despair, battled with the onset of madness, but did not give up and managed to compose many masterpieces. Incredibly, despite his complete deafness, he guided listeners through the entire flow of the majestic Vltava River…

The design of the medal maker MgA. Tereza Eisnerová was used as a template for the commemorative medal. The obverse side bears the composer's portrait in profile surrounded by the inscription BEDŘICH SMETANA 1874-2024. The reverse side presents the main heroine of Smetana's opera Libuše, supplemented with a violin key and the inscription CZECH REPUBLIC.

The issue run numbers only 99 pieces. Each medal is also hand-numbered on the edge.