75 years have passed since the events of 1942 and the Czech Mint publishes a traditional complete set of four gold half-ounce coins from the free cycle called the War Year. We do not exaggerate when we say that this year was decisive for the outcome of the greatest conflict in human history.

In 1942 World War II haunted the entire planet:

• The United States finally took active part in the fight and set out against the Japanese troops in the Pacific. The Japanese wanted to show their superiority at an atoll named Midway, but instead of giving the US Navy a lesson, they lost all their aircraft carriers and never recovered from the loss.
• Great Britain's soldiers led a fierce war in northern Africa against the elite units of German Africa corps, and the Egyptian town of El Alamein was finally supposed to decide on the winner. One of the biggest tank battles of all time was unleashed, which finally overwhelmed Nazi plans to dominate the black continent.
• World War II continued for the third year, and the United States decided to find a way to end it as soon as possible. They therefore launched the top secret scientific project Manhattan in order to develop such a destructive weapon that its very existence would discourage nations from further thoughts of war. This weapon was to become the atomic bomb.
• The murderous confrontation of Nazi Germany and Red Army troops reached Stalingrad. The city of Volga was not only a strategic knot, but also a symbol of Soviet resistance. The Soviets resisted, in the greatest battle in history, where they fought for every inch of land. Finally they won, went west and stopped in Berlin.

The expert medal maker and teacher Luboš Charvát was the author of all four detailed coins. The reverse sides of the coins bear the following war scenes - the American Dauntless bomber attacking the Japanese aircraft carrier Akagi; British tank M3 Lee wins the German Panzer IV; the first three atomic weapons in history - Trinity, Little Boy and Fat Man - lie ahead of Manhattan's logo; a German soldier attacks the Soviet tank T 34/76. The composition of each reverse is complemented by the flag of the winning party and a inscription in the relevant language - English (Battle of Midway, Project Manhattan), Arabic (Battle of El Alamein) and Russian (Battle of Stalingrad). The obverse side is the same for the four coins. It belongs to the attributes of Niue Island (the issuer, who licenses the Czech Mint to coin its own coins), i.e the name and portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, the year of the issue 2017 and the nominal value of 25 DOLLARS (NZD). The relief of the obverse side is complemented by the five helmets belonging to the nations which appear on coins - Germans, Americans, Soviets, British and Japanese.

A set of four coins is stored in a stylish tin box - an illustration on the lid depicts the silhouettes of the US naval artillery when dragging the Pacific.