Giacomo Puccini is presented on a half-ounce gold coin of the Czech Mint from a free cycle commemorating important personalities of world history. He joined the hall of greats in the year that marked the 100th anniversary of his death.

Giacomo Puccini came from a fifth-generation Italian musical family in which the profession of church organist was inherited. From the age of 14 he played at mass and in pubs, but although skilled in his craft, he proved to be a mediocre musician. A turning point in his life came when, at the age of eighteen, he went to a performance of Verdi's Aida. "It was as if the gates of music had opened before me, " said Puccini, whose life has been linked to opera ever since . He threw himself into his studies at the Milan Conservatory, proved himself a great melodist with an incredible flair for the dramatic in music and story, and quickly conquered the world. His operas were heard from America to the Far East. Tosca, Madame Butterfly, La Bohème and Turandot were all extremely popular with audiences who found Puccini's work an emotional probe into the human soul. The impressive and easy-to-remember melodies were also extremely rewarding for the singers. Many musicologists, however, could not find a name for the king of Italian opera. They considered him a rational calculator, who followed the majority taste and who created sentimentally - to move his listeners in the first place. But this criticism did not change the fact that operas full of amorous passion and tragic destinies are no less popular a hundred years after the composer's death…

Medal maker MgA. Petra Čánská dedicated the reverse side of the coin to a faithful portrait of Giacomo Puccini, which she added his name, autograph and a quill for writing. The obverse side presents the bowler hat worn by the composer and a list of his most famous works. As the coins of the Czech Mint are issued with the foreign licence of the island of Niue, they also bear its national emblem, the nominal value of 25 DOLLARS (NZD) and the year of issue 2024 on the obverse side.

The coin, which is issued in a limited edition of only 100 pieces, is supplemented with a pictorial certificate of authenticity.