Exactly 150 years have passed since the birth of Štefan Banič in 2020. Although his name has been forgotten, he entered the history of aviation and his success is enlivened by a silver coin issued by the National Bank of Slovakia.

Štefan Banič was born in 1870 in Smolenice. He trained as a bricklayer and took part in the construction of Smolenice castle, but in 1907 poverty drove him to America, where he worked in the fields, mines and factories. At that time, the world was experiencing an air fever. It had been only a few years since the Wright brothers had built the first plane heavier than air, and the attempts of the airmen were still groundbreaking. Many brave men paid for conquering the sky with their lives, and one such accident was witnessed by Štefan Banič. The plane crash inspired him to design an ingenious invention - although it was not the first parachute, it had a completely different construction compared to contemporary models. Banič's invention resembled a skirt the pilot had pulled up to chest level. When the pilot jumped out of the plane, the skirt opened like an umbrella with the help of springs, leaving the pilot's arms and head above the stretched surface. One of the indisputable advantages of Banič's construction was the fact that the parachute was controllable, and the pilot could sail to a specific location. The inventor himself tested his parachute in front of representatives of the US Air Force when he jumped from a fifteen-story building on June 3, 1914. The Air Force bought and tested the patent in the First World War and made Štefan Banič its honorary member…

The reverse side of the coin with a nominal value of 10 EURO, was processed by the medal maker Mgr. art. Peter Valach, and presents a portrait of Štefan Banič. The obverse side then bears a detailed technical drawing of Banič's parachute taken from the original patent document.

The coin in quality proof was minted by the Slovak Mint Mincovňa Kremnica.