Silver Medal Retro - Childhood under Socialism proof

The Czech Mint’s new series of silver commemorative medals, titled Retro, commemorates various aspects of the former regime. The first issue nostalgically recalls childhood under socialism.

A happy childhood in unhappy times  -  that is how one could describe growing up in the era of Czechoslovak socialism. Children didn’t worry about politics, censorship, or lines at the stores, and even though they had far less than today, they managed to have fun. They spent most of their free time outdoors with friends, and the city streets and meadows beyond the village were thus filled with children’s shouts. When it rained, it was time for memory games or cut-out figures from Ábíčko. Vacations were spent at grandmothers’ houses, at cottages, and at Pioneer camps. Fairy tales on TV or in the movies were a treat, but libraries were full of adventure books. Pocket money could be spent on things like chewing gum, and bartering was also rampant - for example, with “C” stamps. Scarcity led to resourcefulness - every proper boy knew how to make his own slingshot and girls knew how to sew dresses for dolls - but there were toys that everyone longed for. It wasn’t just about Western luxury goods from Tuzex. Another hit in short supply was the domestic Merkur construction set. It was created as early as the 1920s, but its golden age came during socialism. While seven types of metal construction sets were produced in 1965, there were seventeen by 1981. Boxes for young model builders sold for seven million Czechoslovak crowns that year! The whimsical pieces of painted sheet steel with a grid of pre-drilled holes, which were connected using screws and nuts, were also exported—not only to Eastern Bloc countries, but also to Denmark, the Netherlands, Spain, and Saudi Arabia…

Medal designer MgA.Petra Čánská conceived an imaginative composition when creating the medal’s design. The obverse is divided by a cone of light emanating from a slide projector. The reverse side follows the concept of the obverse side, but instead of the projector’s light, it is divided using pieces from the Merkur construction set, which are highlighted with red enamel. On both sides of the medal, you will find children at play and a whole range of toys and other artifacts from the socialist era.

The medal is presented in thematic packaging filled with period photographs.