Aleš Hrdlička, one of the most important anthropologists in history, was born 150 years ago. The Czech Mint issued the half-ounce gold medal which is part of the free cycle of the most beautiful unrealized designs submitted to the Czech National Bank competitions to commemorate the famous Czech native.

Aleš Hrdlička was born in Humpolec, but when he was thirteen, his family set out for the American dream. He had an extraordinary study talent, and although his beginnings in his new homeland were hard, he had graduated from a medical school. He was attracted by the physical, psychological, social and cultural study of a human during his studies. He went to France, where he spent an entire year studying anthropology and found his real mission. He opened an anthropological laboratory after he returned to the US, and he spent the following years by researching indigenous Americans, trying to find out how they settled the continent. The result of research supported by a number of international expeditions has become a widely accepted theory that claims America was inhabited by people traveling across the Bering Strait from Asia. Hrdlicka continued studying the gradual expansion of a human on the planet even when the Nazis spread their delusions about the superior race. He came to the breakthrough conclusion that all people are of one origin despite the obvious differences. Although he has become a world-renowned scientist, he has never forgotten his old homeland. He supported the creation of the common state of Czechs and Slovaks thanks to his political acquaintances, he also supported Czechoslovak science and tried to persuade Americans to intervene against the threat of Nazism.

The design of the academic sculptor Zbyněk Fojtů won the third place for the original composition in the competition of the Czech National Bank and it became the proposal of the commemorative medal. The obverse side of the medal presents a charismatic portrait of Aleš Hrdlička. The reverse side presents a portrait of the Indian with characteristic indigenous features, while half of his face is formed as a skull.

The schedule of issuance counts only 99 medals - each piece is manually numbered on the edge and accompanied by a special certificate of autenticity that tells the story of Aleš Hrdlička.