The five-year cycle of silver coins of the Czech National Bank with a nominal value of 500 CZK, which commemorates famous means of transport, presents its third issue. The coin with the year 2023 was minted in quality proof and dedicated to the Tatra 603 passenger car.

When the Kopřivnice car factory introduced the Tatra 77 streamliner in 1934, the professional and general public was speechless. The world's first mass-produced aerodynamic car seemed like a revelation from the future, but it still had several shortcomings in the areas of design and performance. However, its successors - the Tatra 87, 97, 600 and finally the 603 - dealt with them handily. The last Tatra passenger car with a streamlined body was produced from 1956 for almost two decades. Although it was built in secret, in violation of central planning, it became a representative official car, used mainly by high-ranking civil servants, directors of national enterprises, ministers and representatives of the communist government. The air-cooled eight-cylinder engine was also admired abroad, where it served Czechoslovak embassies and where it successfully participated in motoring competitions. Despite considerable interest, however, the Tatra 603 was practically not exported. In the early years, the car factory managed to produce only a few dozen units a year, and although supply increased many times during the normalisation period, it still failed to meet demand…

The author of the commemorative coin is the medal maker Petra Brodská, DiS. The expert committee of the Czech National Bank was particularly impressed by the “excellent rendering of the Tatra 603 car together with its detailed elements, including technical drawings“. The car is depicted in the first series with three headlights. The reverse side of the coin features an inlay in the shape of a car, which is made of pure silver and has a special surface finish of anthracite colour. The so-called PVD technology involves applying metal layers by steaming or sputtering. It can be used to create very thin structures with excellent physical and chemical properties. Their thickness is in the order of mere thousandths of a millimetre. The noble coating based on amorphous carbon simulates the iconic black paint of the Tatra 603, while providing the coin with additional protection against wear and corrosion.

The exclusive supplier of the coins for the Czech National Bank is the Czech Mint in Jablonec nad Nisou.