The year 2023 marks the 100th anniversary of the start of regular broadcasting of Czechoslovak Radio. Therefore, the Czech Mint created a half-ounce gold medal which is part of a free cycle of the most beautiful unrealised designs entered in the Czech National Bank's competitions.

A new era of information and entertainment began for the Czechoslovaks on 18 May 1923, at 20 hours and 15 minutes. Czechoslovakia became only the second European country to launch regular radio broadcasting, with our pioneers surpassed only by the British BBC. There is no recording of the first live broadcast, as recording equipment was not yet available, but the content of the programme is well known. After a short introduction, musical numbers followed - the Czechoslovak anthem played on the trumpet, performances by a violinist, cellist, pianist and opera singer. A wet barking dog also joined in - it was broadcast from the provisional conditions of the scout tent. This was built next to the transmitter in Kbely and became the home of the Radiojournal for a year and a half. The broadcasts developed rapidly and offered news, weather forecasts, stock market news and radio plays alongside music. The first live sports broadcast took place in 1924, the first live broadcast of a concert by the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, a church service and a presidential speech in 1925. It was broadcast for the German, Hungarian and Ruthenian minorities and for foreign listeners. Czechoslovak Radio also influenced some state-forming events. It became the heart of the resistance against the occupiers and the only source of objective information during the Prague Uprising in 1945 and the invasion of Warsaw Pact troops in 1968…

The design of the academic sculptor Zbyněk Fojtů served as a template for the commemorative medal. The expert committee of the Czech National Bank awarded it second place in the art competition. While the obverse side of the medal presents a broadcasting technique, the reverse side is dominated by a historical tent. Both sides are connected by the motif of concentric circles, which symbolise radio broadcasting.

The mintage is only 99 pieces. Each medal is also hand-numbered on the edge.