We commemorate the 500th anniversary of the start of minting of Jáchymov thalers in 2020. The Czech National Bank issues a silver coin with a nominal value of 200 CZK embossed in quality proof on this occasion.

'ARMA DOMINORIUM SLICORUM STEFANI ET FRATERS COMITUM DE BASSAUN' - these Latin words appear in the inscription of the Jáchymov thaler. They signify the "shield of the Counts of Schlick, Stephen and the brothers, the Earls of Pasoun" and express who was responsible for minting one of the most famous coins of all time. The Counts of Schlick were originally a bourgeois dynasty, which, thanks to its extraordinary entrepreneurship, developed into a noble family. When they discovered a fabulously rich deposit of silver ore at their estate in the Ore Mountains, they felt a unique opportunity to profit. They invited expert miners from the German side of the mountains and started mining. Silver boulders weighing up to 100 kilograms found almost under the surface were not exceptional in Jáchymov… Europe demanded Czech silver, but if the Schlick wanted to export it as a raw material, they would have to pay customs duties and taxes. But the coins were spared these charges, and the cunning nobles began to mint their own coins from the conquered silver. Thereafter, they obtained official authorization from the Bohemian Diet and King Louis I. in 1520. They managed to produce millions of thalers from Jáchymov silver until 1528, when the envious Ferdinand I deprived the Schlick of their right to mint coins. Everybody - at home and abroad - tried to imitate the successful standard introduced by the Schlick dynasty in the following centuries. The dollar was named after the garbled name of the thaler …

Both sides of the Jáchymov thaler are depicted on the obverse side of the coin that was created by Veronika Adamcová, a young student of medal craft. On the reverse and obverse side of the coin, there are portraits of the issuers of Jáchymov thalers - Count Stephan Schlick and the Czech King Louis I.

The Czech Mint in Jablonec nad Nisou is the exclusive producer of czech coins.