Slovak Commemorative Coins 1993-2008

The third extended edition of the publication Slovak Commemorative Coins contains a complete overview of all commemorative coins issued by Národná banka Slovenska throughout the period from its foundation in 1993 until the end of the Slovak koruna’s validity as a currency in 2008. The coins issued commemorate the anniversaries of the most significant historical events and personalities of Slovakia or depict its exceptional cultural and natural localities. Although coins of this type have been around for several centuries, we can now find them much more often than in the past and, as commemorative coins have become a sought-after collector item, issuers all over the world are trying to broaden the range of motifs, issue the coins with various face values, produce them from various materials and sometimes give them a non-conventional shape. Minting has a long tradition on the territory of Slovakia as the first coins were struck here by the Celts in the second and first centuries BČ. Striking of coins in the Kremnica mint, one of the oldest continuously operating mints in Europe, was first recorded in 1328. All current coins and most commemorative coins issued by Národná banka Slovenska have been produced in this mint. In 2004 and 2005, commemorative coins were also minted abroad -in Česká Mincovna of Jablonec nad Nisou (Czech Republic) and Mennica Polska in Warsaw (Poland). There is a story behind each commemorative coin. It involves a process in which many experts in various fields take part. The first step is the selection of most suitable themes - a historical event, personality, or natural locality in Slovakia. Themes suggested by the Slovak scientific, cultural and educational institutions as well as by individuals are all taken into account. They are assessed by an expert committee that is an advisory body to Národná banka Slovenska. The committee is comprised of leading experts from several institutes of the Slovak Academy of Sciences, from museums, universities and Národná banka Slovenska. The final selection of themes is approved by the Bank Board of the NBS. In terms of contents, commemorative coins can be divided into several theme groups: significant events and personalities in the history of Slovakia, important institutions, science and technology, the history of transport, sports and the Olympic movement, protection of environment and landscape, localities inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, coronations in Bratislava, and the most noteworthy milestones in the development of money on the Slovak territory. Národná banka Slovenska announces anonymous public contests for art designs of commemorative coins. The submitted designs are assessed by a committee comprised of artists, art theoreticians, a heraldry expert, representatives of the Kremnica Mint and Národná banka Slovenska as well as invited expert advisors specializing in the given subject. The committee assesses the quality of the contending designs in terms of their content and artistic expression and recommends the winning design for production. Between 1993 and the end of 2008, Národná banka Slovenska altogether issued 74 commemorative coins. Most of them were struck in silver, ten commemorative coins were made using gold plates and four coins were struck on bimetallic coin blanks consisting of two precious metals - gold and silver or gold and palladium.