How did the Jáchymov thalers become US dollars? The Czech Mint's bullion coin minted from one  kilo of fine silver will remind you of this incredible story.

A lightning rod, a propeller, blood groups, genetics, contact lenses, sugar cubes and the word robot - all this is the work of our ingenious compatriots. But it is a little-known fact that we have also given the world its most famous and respected currency. Which is it? The dollar! Somewhere in Texas, no one probably knows that the roots of their famous currency go back to a mountain town in a small country in the heart of Europe. That's why it's worth remembering a forgotten Czech heritage whose history began five hundred years ago... The Jáchymov thaler was a silver coin that originated in the Czech Kingdom in 1520. It was an exceptionally high quality currency that spread throughout Europe and its success prompted the minting of many imitations. The Bohemian tolar became, for example, the Dutch daler, which was used for payment in the American colonies, among other places. Another corruption of the Czech word was the dollar.

The Czech Mint proudly adheres to the legacy of the Jáchymov mintmasters. It is fitting that in addition to coins denominated in crowns, we also mint dollar coins - New Zealand, Fijian or Samoan. After five hundred years, the circle has come full circle and the dollars have returned to where they came from... While the reverse side of the bullion coin, which is the work of designer Ladislav Vraný and medal maker MgA. Martin Dašek, presents three Jáchymov thalers, on the obverse side you will find three US dollars. Specifically, this is the motif of the very first coins minted by the United States in 1794, which borrowed not only the name but also the weight and purity of the metal used from their Czech ancestor. Since the coins of the Czech Mint are issued with the licence of a foreign issuer, which is the island of Niue, their obverse side still bears its necessary elements - the national emblem, the nominal value of 80 DOLLARS (NZD) and the year of issue 2022.

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The story of the Czech thalers will be presented in detail in a popular educational series produced in cooperation between the Czech Mint and the CNN Prima NEWS channel. You can find it on a special website: www.odtolarukdolaru.cz