Set of two CNB silver coins 200 CZK Jan Blažej Santini + book Hell of the soul to the light of the world

2023
year

ČNB
issuer

31 mm
diameter

2,2 mm
thickness

0,418 troy oz (13,00 g) Ag
weight

92,5% Ag
purity

BU
grade

400 CZK
nominal value

The coins are struck from an alloy containing 925 parts silver and 75 parts copper. The set includes both STANDARD and PROOF versions, which is different in finish and edge.

The STANDARD quality coin has a scalloped edge. The PROOF quality coin has a smooth edge with the frieze "CZECH NATIONAL BANK * Ag 0.925 * 13 g *", the field of the coin is highly polished and the relief is frosted, .

The set also includes the book Santini, Hell of the Soul to the Light of the World by Jaroslava Černá. The work describes the dramatic life story of the brilliant artist and gives the reader a glimpse into the mind of the most original architect of the High Baroque.

Jan Blažej Santini-Aichel - the creator of the so-called Baroque Gothic, a Czech unique that built on the contrast between the new Baroque dynamics and the old Gothic means of expression. Santini was born in 1677 with a physical defect and died in 1723. In less than a quarter of a century of productive life, however, he managed to design about a hundred buildings. He brilliantly applied his knowledge of mathematics and geometry in his work on monasteries, castles and inns, but behind all the shapes, arches and vaults there was still the deep mysticism of the Old Testament Kabbalah. While in the interiors Santini created spaces with excellent acoustics and extraordinary light characteristics, in the exteriors he showed a refined sense of integrating buildings into the landscape.

The set is an original and valuable gift not only for history and architecture lovers.