The last gold coin of the Czech Mint from the four-part miniseries War Year 1939 commemorates the first naval engagement of the Second World War - the Battle of the Rio de La Plata.

World War II broke out on 1 September 1939, but the Third Reich's war machine was in motion even before that. The "pocket battleship" Admiral Graf Spee sailed from the port of Wilhelmshaven on 21 August. Its special design was a response to the arms limitations Germany had committed to after the end of World War I. The armored vessel was powerful enough to destroy enemy cruisers, yet fast enough to be able to escape confrontation with conventional battleships. Admiral Graf Spee's job was to sink merchant ships in the Atlantic, making it impossible to supply Europe from overseas, and he succeeded. However, the destruction of nine merchant vessels was not without response. The British Admiralty organized a massive search to put an end to the German rampage. One of the search parties, consisting of the light cruisers HMS Ajax and HMS Achilles and the heavy cruiser HMS Exeter, encountered its quarry on 13 December off the coast of South America - at the mouth of the Rio de La Plata. Although the British were outnumbered, in the battle that ensued the forces were evenly matched. The better-equipped German ship damaged the enemy cruisers badly, but was forced to retreat. It took refuge in Montevideo, Uruguay, where Captain Langsdorff wanted to make the necessary repairs. Uruguay was officially a neutral country, but in reality it was close to Great Britain, and the German ship was therefore given four days to leave port. This was not enough time for repairs, and in addition, unsubstantiated reports about an unbeatable enemy superiority that was supposed to be lurking in international waters began to come. Therefore, Langsdorff left the harbour and destroyed the hull of his ship with explosives instead of attempting to escape. The wreck of the German pride was left lying in the middle of the river, and the captain, who had been mercilessly criticized by Adolf Hitler, committed suicide. Thus ended the first of many naval battles of World War II…

The coin is the work of the medal maker Mgr. Art. Miroslav Hric, Art.D. The reverse side presents a naval battle - Admiral Graf Spee and a British cruiser firing mercilessly at each other from their gun turrets. As the licence to issue commemorative coins of the Czech Mint is granted by the Pacific island of Niue, the obverse side bears its necessary attributes - the name and portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, the nominal value of 5 DOLLARS (NZD) and the year of issue 2021.

The complete collection of four war coins can be stored in a thematic tin etui which can also be found in the offer of the Czech Mint.