Silver coin ČNB 200 Kč Josef Karel Matocha appointed Archbishop of Olomouc PROOF

2023
year

ČNB
issuer

31 mm
diameter

2,2 mm
thickness

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

92,5% Ag
purity

PROOF
grade

18270 piece
mintage cap

200 CZK
nominal value

Josef Matocha reached the peak of his career in the spring of 1948, when the Pope appointed him Archbishop of Olomouc. He immediately set to work zealously, but he knew that the struggle with the communist ideology that had recently taken over Czechoslovakia and which hated religion would be unequal. He preached and spoke several times a day, visited schools and races, and amazed everyone who knew him as a professor of unremarkable philosophy with his zeal. At Easter of 1950, the regime arrested the archbishop's closest associates and sentenced them to many years of punishment. Josef Matocha himself did not stand trial, but nevertheless became a prisoner in his own residence - under the constant surveillance of the State Security. His world was reduced to a reception room, an office and a bedroom. Telephone, newspapers, books, correspondence, visits - all were forbidden to him. The StB did not even allow him to attend his own sister's funeral. Despite the psychological terror, however, he did not become a puppet of the Communists - he refused to resign and to appoint canons chosen by the regime. He did not stop defending his faith and eventually paid the ultimate price. In 1961, after eleven years of isolation, he died of a heart attack because the StB refused to give him medical care.

On the obverse of the bicentennial coin, a cross in a crown of thorns is depicted in the centre of the coin field. The cross is partially covered by a small shield from the personal emblem of Archbishop Josef Karel Matocha. The text 'CZECH REPUBLIC' appears in the description around the perimeter of the coin. The denomination with the abbreviation of the monetary unit '200 CZK' is placed at the bottom edge of the coin. The Czech Mint mark consisting of the letters 'Č' and 'M' is placed at the lower right edge of the small shield.

On the reverse side of the bicentenary is a portrait of Josef Karel Matocha. A simplified version of the emblem of the Archbishopric of Olomouc is placed at the lower right edge of the coin, with the texts '1948' and '2023' above it on the right. The texts 'JOSEF KAREL MATOCHA' and 'APPOINTMENT BY THE ARCHBISHOP OF OLOMOUCKÝ' appear in an incomplete description around the perimeter of the coin. Initials of the author of the coin Mgr. Marie Šebora, which are formed by the composition of the letters "M" and "Š", are placed above the text "1948".

In PROOF quality, the field of the coin is highly polished and the relief is matt, the edge is smooth with the frieze "CZECH NATIONAL BANK Ag 0.925 13 g".

Each coin is accompanied by a catalogue card in dark purple colour, which contains a description of the coin and its plastic representation.