The history of the Škoda LIAZ 706 truck is linked to the history of the LIAZ car factory. The eighteenth silver coin of the Czech Mint from the series On Wheels recalls their story.

At the end of the 1930s, the car factory in Mladá Boleslav offered a comprehensive range of cars and trucks. Since 1939, the only heavy commercial vehicle was the Škoda 706. The first two digits in the name of the series indicated the load capacity of the car in metric cents, while the third digit indicated the number of cylinders of the engine, therefore, it was a six-cylinder powered seven-cylinder car. As Mladá Boleslav was hit by bombing during the Second World War, the production of trucks moved to the Avia aircraft plant in Letňany in 1945, when it began to produce a modernised type called the Škoda 706 R. In the early 1950s, the communist leadership of Czechoslovakia decided to move the production of trucks to the north of Bohemia, where a new car factory LIAZ, was established for this purpose. Automobile Works in Liberec produced the first bonneted 7x6 in 1952 and three years later came up with its own type, which was based on the 706 R series and designated the 706 RT. The introduction of direct diesel injection increased the power and reliability of the engine, and the chassis, which was shortened by one metre, was fitted with a completely new cabover cab - a four-seater trambus cab, which was very modern for its time. Further modernisation occurred in 1966 with the arrival of the 706 MT series. Initially, this was a temporary emergency solution, combining elements of the existing seven-six with selected parts from the forthcoming LIAZ 100 series, the production of which was full of complications. In the end, however, the MT range held on for two decades - the last units left the factory in 1988. Thus, the 706 was produced in various modifications for nearly half a century. It became the most widely used Czechoslovak road truck and was exported to 57 countries around the world…

The reverse side of the coin, which is the work of the medal maker MgA. Martin Dašek, is dominated by a depiction of the Škoda 706 RTHP, which served as a fire truck. The additional motif of the relief is a detail of the steering wheel. As the coins of the Czech Mint are issued with the licence of a foreign issuer, which is the island of Niue, the obverse side bears its necessary elements - the portrait and name of Queen Elizabeth II, the nominal value of 1 DOLLAR (NZD) and the year of issue 2023. Following the title of the collector's cycle, the perimeter of the obverse side is formed by sections of the wheels of various means of transport.

The coin comes with a spectacular packaging in the form of a pop-up book that includes accompanying text and period photographs.