Set of two ducats Royal couples - Charles IV. and Anna Svídnická proof
Set of two ducats Royal couples - Charles IV. and Anna Svídnická proof
The product can also be purchased directly in the stores of the Czech Mint
Royal couples
The Czech Mint issued the set of two gold ducats from the Royal Couple cycle that commemorate Charles IV. and Anna of Schweidnitz after the issue dedicated to George of Poděbrady and Joanna of Rožmitál.
Blanka of Valois became the first wife of the Father of Homeland. The young man loved her a lot and they had two daughters together. But when the queen died, Charles was forced to marry for a second time. Anne of Bavaria gave him a son, but the boy did not even live to be two years, and his mother soon followed him. Charles married again less than four months after Ann's death. His chosen Anna of Schweidnitz was only fourteen years old and should have gotten married to his deceased son. The third wife secured the Father of Homeland the influence over Silesia, gave birth to another daughter and a male heir - the future King Wenceslas IV. His father wished to baptize a boy and to name him Wenceslas for several reasons. He was baptized himself, he was a great admirer of St. Wenceslas legacy and, last but not least, he wanted to point out that the family of Luxembourg continues the Czech dynastic tradition. Charles IV. married once more after the death of Anna of Schweidnitz. He married Elizabeth of Pomerania, who gave him another son Zikmund of Luxembourg, whose name entered history.
"Details of the monarchal faces on the common obverse side of ducats are supplemented by silhouettes of two characters in the background that commemorate Charles's previous wifes, who are Blanka of Valois and Anne of Bavaria," explains the author of the cycle, academic sculptor Michal Vitanovsky. The reverse side of the ducat dedicated to the monarch presents the half-structure of Charles IV. with the insignia of power and inscription WE COME FROM THE OLD CZECH KINGS DYNASTY, which is an extract from the king's autobiography called VITA CAROLI. The reverse side of the queen ducat is dedicated to the moment of her son's baptism. The scene from the religious ceremony is supplemented with the inscription EMPRESS ANNA - MOTHER OF THE SUCCESSOR TO THE THRONE and the birth date of Wenceslas IV. in 1361.
A pair of ducats include an elegant wooden box, whose cap is decorated with chess pieces symbolizing the king and queen. The packaging also includes an illustrated certificate of authenticity with the accompanying word of the author.