Silver medal 10 oz Battle of Kresčak stand

The Battle of Kresčak is one of the most memorable events in Czech history. The silver medal from the Czech Mint is being issued in the year we commemorate its 680th anniversary.

The small town of Crécy lies in northern France—far from Bohemia, and yet it has left its mark on Czech history. At the very beginning of the Hundred Years’ War, a fateful battle took place here. While there were 20,000 English attackers, the French defenders had 50,000 fighters. Since the Luxembourg dynasty, which ruled Bohemia, was closely linked to the French ruling house of Valois, King John of Bohemia, though blind, considered it his duty to come to the aid of his relatives. He brought 500 knights with him—including his son, the future Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV. The French were certain of victory, but the battle ended in a shocking triumph for the English. The disciplined English deployed deadly longbows against the proud French knights, which could pierce even plate armor, and with their help completely decimated the elite of European knighthood. The remaining French fled, but John refused to retreat. He had his horse’s reins tied to the horses of his loyal comrades-in-arms and rode into his final battle. His defiant cry still resonates today: “It shall never be that the King of Bohemia flees from battle!” Fortunately, Prince Charles survived the battle, but as a contemporary chronicle notes, the Czechs came very close to losing two kings in a single day: “When the other nobles saw that King John had fallen and perished in battle, so as not to lose both rulers, they led his son, the elected Prince Charles—who was fighting valiantly nearby and had already been wounded by enemy arrows—away from the battle against his will and resistance, and brought him to a safe place.”

Medallist Mário Slezák dedicated both sides of the medal to the chaos of the Battle of Crécy, emphasizing the multitude of historical figures. On the obverse, you will find King Philip VI of France, Rudolf of Lorraine, Charles II of Alençon, and Louis II of Blois-Châtillon. Opposing the cream of French knighthood are the English, armed with longbows. The reverse side of the medal then focuses on the death of John of Luxembourg, who stands alongside Henry of Bítov from Lichtenburg. “As a memento of the victory of the English King Edward III, the flag of the English King towers above the flag of John of Luxembourg,” explains the author, who incorporated rich heraldic decoration into the medal. This will help you identify the individual participants in the battle.

The mintage consists of only 100 pieces of commemorative medals.