Czech mint produces a series of unique gold investment coins
With soaring inflation people are being advised to invest their money in various commodities. The Czech Mint in Jablonec nad Nisou has just given a select few the chance to invest a whopping 14 million crowns in the biggest gold coin ever minted on the Continent.
The Czech Mint in Jablonec nad Nisou was established in 1993 and today is one of the leaders in its field. Its latest achievement is a unique investment coin made of gold- the largest and heaviest ever minted in the Czech Republic, and indeed Europe. The mint’s director Stanislav Bachtik says the coin is truly special.
The coin weights ten kilos, measures 16.5 centimeters in diameter and depicted on it, in relief, is the Czech Lion. What makes it special is that it has a security hologram in the shape of a shield which you can see with the naked eye. It is the largest gold coin ever minted on the Continent and I can say that it was without a doubt the hardest undertaking the Czech Mint has tackled.
The idea of minting investment coins larger than the usual 90 millimeters with a weight of more than 1,000 grams originated about four years ago. While working on a bigger coin for the Czech National Bank, the Jablonec Mint found that private investors would also be interested in exceptional bigger pieces.
For the mint, however, it meant buying a special press, made to order. They acquired a special hydraulic press, which was designed specifically for this purpose, the only one of its kind in the world.
The force needed to mint coins of that size is astronomical. The press must exert the same pressure as if it were pressing down on several thousand cars. Only three mints in the world have the equipment to produce coins of this size –they are in Canada, China and Australia.
First the Jablonec mint produced a coin weighing one kilogram, last year it produced a special edition of five-kilo gold investment coins marked with the special security feature that the mint has been using on its products since last year – a hologram in the shape of a shield at the bottom of the reverse side of the coin.
Last week it produced the first of a series of five 10 kilogram gold coins – before an audience of curious VIP guests and reporters.
The other four, which are in the making, have already been sold out – for the price of 14 million apiece. Although the gold Czech lion coins, which come in various sizes are primarily investment coins, they also have artistic value. The author of the design is an exceptionally talented artist, Asamat Baltaev, who has created a new Czech Lion design for the mint every year.
