Silver medal World Famous Gangs - Crips and Bloods reverse proof

The Czech Mint’s series titled World Gangs is a dark chronicle of organized crime. The third silver medal features the American gangs Crips and Bloods.

In the late 1960s, Black youth in the streets of Los Angeles faced systematic racism, poverty, and police violence. The frustration of African Americans reached a peak and manifested itself in the form of radical street gangs. During this turbulent period in U.S. history, two of the most notorious criminal groups emerged—the Crips and the Bloods. Originally, they were disparate groups of youths from different neighborhoods. Soon, however, they transformed into organized gangs that waged bloody wars against each other over territory, power, and respect. Their distinguishing features became colors—blue for the Crips, red for the Bloods—and specific gestures. The purpose of gang membership was initially protection against rival gangs or law enforcement, but with the onset of the crack epidemic in the 1980s, everything changed. The gangs got involved in the lucrative drug trade and began expanding beyond California. They did not shy away from extortion, theft, contract killings, or arms dealing. Traces of the criminal culture that emerged as a cry of despair in the ghetto are still immortalized today in hip-hop identity, a troubled prison system, and traumatized communities. Although there are repeated efforts toward peace, the mere color of a bandana can still determine who will live and who will die…

Medalist Adam Liška, DiS., dedicated the obverse side of the medal to two gangsters. While the left half of the obverse side belongs to a member of the Crips, the right half belongs to a member of the Bloods. Although the gangs were originally African American, they gradually accepted other ethnicities into their ranks, and the medal therefore depicts men of African American and Hispanic descent. Thanks to engraved coloration technology, the typical colors of both rival gangs stand out. The reverse side of the medal, which is common to the entire series, features cold and firearms, a skull, and a globe, symbolizing that organized crime is rampant worldwide.

The Sicilian Cosa Nostra and the Japanese Yakuza have already been featured in this collectible series. The Chinese Triads will be next.