The year 2024 marks 700 years since Marco Polo died. A large silver coin of the Czech Mint, weighing one kilogram, pays tribute to this great personality.

Marco Polo was seventeen years old when he left his native Venice in 1271 to travel to the far Orient. He came from an enterprising family, but he had no experience. He accompanied his father Niccolo and his uncle Matteo, who were wealthy and well-travelled merchants, on their adventurous journey, but it was fate that Marco should be the one to go down in history... The destination of the expedition was the court of the Mongol khan Kublai. The Polo brothers had met him on their previous journey east - at that time they promised to take his message to the Pope. The Great Khan had wanted a hundred Christian priests to arrive in the Mongol Empire, but only two were now travelling alongside the Poles, and even they eventually fell foul of the pitfalls of the Silk Road. The three Venetians were patient, however, and after several years of hardship stood before Kublai, who received them with great honours. The inquisitive Marco was fascinated by the culture, religion, medicine and economy of the Far East. Paper money or coal was unprecedented for him. The Khan quickly took a liking to the natural, intelligent and humble European and made him his envoy. Marco, on behalf of the man who ruled half the known world, travelled to all corners of the empire and brought back astute observations. He spent a full seventeen years in Kublai's service and then, with a heavy heart, decided to return home. This time, with his father and uncle, they travelled mainly by sea, and when they found themselves back in Venice in 1295, they had travelled twenty-four thousand miles. Although he had amassed considerable wealth, Marco did not long for peace. He became involved in a war with the Genoese and fell into captivity. A fellow prisoner, the writer Rustichello da Pisa, then vividly described his incredible life story. The legendary book that emerged from this narrative has become the most valuable source of information about Asia at that time. It inspired many other explorers - including Christopher Columbus - but it is not at all certain that it was true. Indeed, it is possible that Marco Polo was not an adventurous traveller, but a good listener and mystifier with a vivid imagination, who picked up all the information about faraway China from Persian sailors...

Medal maker Mgr. Petr Horák depicted on the reverse side of the coin not only Marco Polo, but also a Venetian winged lion and a ship with a cargo of exotic animals. He was inspired by contemporary manuscripts. The obverse side presents Marco Polo bowing before Kublai Khan. The scene is supplemented with oriental motifs of a dragon and a rider with a falcon. The decor that lines the perimeter of the obverse side is typical of Mongolian folk art. As the coins of the Czech Mint are issued with the foreign licence of the island of Niue, the composition is supplemented with its national emblem, the nominal value of 80 DOLLARS (NZD) and the year of issue 2024.

The coin boasts an elaborated high relief that is highlighted by a patina.