Set of five gold coins Věra Čáslavská with commemorative note proof

Věra Čáslavská was an unrivaled athlete—her record for the number of gold medals has yet to be broken by any Olympic gymnast. She also became an icon of courage and resilience. The Czech Mint pays tribute to her with a five-piece set of gold coins.

Věra Čáslavská was truly an exceptional woman. Her efforts made her the most successful Czech female athlete of all time, and her courage gave hope to an entire nation… She became a seven-time Olympic champion, a four-time world champion, an eleven-time European champion, and in 1968 was named the world’s best female athlete. That year, she became the heroine of the Olympic Games in Mexico, where she won four gold and two silver medals. When the Soviet anthem played during the medal ceremony, the gymnast turned her head away. In doing so, she expressed her opposition to the recent invasion of Czechoslovakia by Warsaw Pact troops and earned immense sympathy not only for herself but also for her occupied homeland. Even at the cost of her own sacrifice… “Those who take risks, stand up to the world, and face it with courage will be rewarded with a tremendous gift—self-respect,” she once said.

The reverse sides of the coins, designed by medalist MgA. Martin Dašek, feature a portrait of Věra Čáslavská and the four gymnastics disciplines in which she excelled - the balance beam, uneven bars, vault, and floor exercise. An attractive design element is the Olympic rings, which appear on all five coins. The common obverse side, which commemorates Věra Čáslavská’s success at the Tokyo Olympics, is adorned with a flock of origami cranes. Since the coins of the Czech Mint are issued under a foreign license from the island of Niue, the obverse side also bears its national coat of arms, the nominal value of 10 DOLLARS (NZD), and the year of issue 2026.

The set of five gold coins is issued in a mintage of 100 pieces. An integral part of each set is a commemorative certificate—that is, a commemorative certificate in the form of a banknote produced by the State Printing Office.