Silver medal Josef Lada - Fateful Adventures of the Good Soldier Svejk - Budejovice anabasis proof

The motif of the final silver medal in the three-part mini-series from the Czech Mint, which commemorates the fate of the Good Soldier Švejk through illustrations by Josef Lada, is the Budějovice Anabasis.

"I could very easily lose you." "Don't worry, sergeant," said Švejk, "we'll do our best to tie ourselves together. That way we won't lose each other. Do you have handcuffs?" "A policeman must always carry handcuffs," said the sergeant emphatically, stumbling around Švejk, "that's our daily bread." "Then let's get linked," urged Švejk, "just try it." With a masterful movement, the sergeant attached the handcuffs to Švejk and the other end to his right wrist, and now they were connected like twins. Stumbling along the road, they couldn't separate, and the guard dragged Švejk over piles of stones, and when he fell, he pulled Švejk down with him. The handcuffs cut into their hands, until finally the guard declared that it couldn't go on like this and that he had to unhook them again. After a long and futile effort to free himself and Švejk from the shackles, the constable sighed: "We are bound together for ever and ever." "Amen," added Švejk, and they continued on their difficult journey.

When Švejk was sent to České Budějovice to the 91st regiment, which was preparing to leave for the front, he missed his train. He therefore set off on foot, but in Putim he was caught in the trap of the gendarmerie station commander. The sergeant decided that Švejk was a Russian spy, and so, after an unsuccessful interrogation, he sent him to the district gendarmerie headquarters in Písek. He was to be guarded by a sergeant, but the sergeant decided to stop at a pub for refreshments. Rum, kontušovka, čert, jeřabinka, ořechovka, višňovka, and vanilková did their job, and Švejk decided to chain himself to the drunken policeman for safety's sake...

The commemorative medal, designed by medallist LudmilaKracíková, DiS., is a faithful relief reconstruction of Josef Lada's book illustrations. The obverse side shows Švejk and the drunk sergeant, who are handcuffed together. The reverse side recalls what preceded the predicament – it shows Švejk being interrogated by the sergeant at the police station.

Do not miss that the first silver medal came with a special collector's album where you can store the complete collection of three medals.