The year 2024 marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Bedřich Smetana. A large silver coin of the Czech Mint, weighing one kilogram of pure silver, pays tribute to the great composer.

An important manifestation of Czech national emancipation efforts in the second half of the 19th century was culture, of which Bedřich Smetana became a key representative. This conscious patriot and versatile artist wanted to raise Czech music to the world level without suppressing its distinctive identity. His efforts to combine national ideas with the current impulses of European musical life were successfull. Emotional works that keep Czechs company during festive and tense historical events still evoke feelings of pride and belonging to the Czech country. The fanfares from the festive opera Libuše, which once opened the National Theatre, now greet presidents. The opening chorus of the comic opera The Bartered Bride - Prodaná nevěsta evokes an infectious zest for life. The symphonic poem cycle My Country – Má vlast is full of triumph but also melancholy. Incredibly, this masterpiece was written when Bedřich Smetana was completely deaf...

The author of the majestic coin was the medal maker Petr Patka, DiS. He dedicated the reverse side to a faithful portrait of Bedřich Smetana, which he surrounded with a keyboard and a list of places where this great man lived and worked - JIHLAVA, BENÁTKY NAD JIZEROU, JINDŘICHŮV HRADEC, LITOMYŠL, JABKENICE, GÖTEBORG, PRAGUE, NĚMECKÝ BROD, PLZEŇ. The obverse side is a showcase of Smetana's best-known works - DALIBOR, PRAGUE CARNIVAL, BRANIBORS IN CZECH, RICHARD III, LIBUŠE, MÁ VLAST – MY FATHERLAND, THE TWO WIDOWS, FROM MY LIFE, VALDŠTÝN'S CAMP, VIOLA, VĚNO, THE BARTERED BRIDE, THE SECRET, THE DEVIL'S WALL, THE KISS - with musical instruments - piano and violin - completing the composition. 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 state emblem, the nominal value of 80 DOLLARS (NZD) and the year of issue 2024. It is also worth noticing the edge of the coin, which bears the composer's name and the years of his life - 2 March 1824, BEDŘICH SMETANA, 12 May 1884.

The coin boasts an elaborated high relief that is highlighted by a patina.