We celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, which is considered a highlight in the Czechoslovak struggle against the Communist regime. The Czech Mint published gold commemorative medals on this occasion.

The Communist Party was endangered in 1989. The Berlin Wall fell down in East Germany, solidarity won in the Polish elections, a free republic was declared in Hungary. The Soviet Union was losing power over its satellites, and Czechoslovakia was no exception - the whole year was marked by protests that began by Palach Week in January and ended by the coup in November. Although the regime decided to fight against civil dissatisfaction with brute force, the Czechoslovaks did not respond in the same way. Therefore, the non-violent revolution that broke out on November 17 and changed the course of our history has entered history as velvet…

The commemorative mintage was created by an expert medal maker and teacher Mgr. Petr Horák. On the obverse side he captured the civil protests on Wenceslas Square - he surrounded the statue of the Czech patron with raised hands of demonstrating people whose fingers form a characteristic gesture - a victorious V-sign. The composition of the obverse side is supplemented by the Czechoslovak flag, together with an inscription VELVET REVOLUTION. On the reverse side there is another symbol connected with the Velvet Revolution, namely the heart that Václav Havel accepted as his own. The heart was placed above the silhouette of Hradčany and thus refers to the famous neon installation made by the artist Jiří David. The composition of the reverse side was closed by Václav Havel's famous statement TRUTH AND LOVE MUST PREVAIL OVER LIES AND HATRED.

The medal was published in cooperation with the Foundation VIZE 97 of Dagmar and Václav Havel.