CZK/PLN exchange rates

Czech koruna – history of the currency

Today’s Czech koruna is one of the youngest currencies in Europe. It has been the official currency in the Czech Republic since the collapse of Czechoslovakia, when the Czechoslovak koruna was transformed into the current Czech currency – CZK. However, the history of this means of payment is longer and is closely connected with the history of the country. At the beginning, when the Czech Republic was under the Habsburg rule, the Austro-Hungarian crown was in use on its territory. Then after the end of World War I in circulation appeared Czechoslovak crown, but this state did not last too long. World War II caused the occupation of a part of Czechoslovakia by Germany, which resulted in a new currency and linking its exchange rate to the German mark. The post-war period, i.e. the communist period, was the time of subsequent monetary revolutions in Czechoslovakia, where the Czechoslovak koruna was restored, which had a very unfavourable exchange rate. Only the split of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic into two states was an impulse to introduce separate monetary policies. The Czech koruna was introduced in the Czech Republic and the Slovak koruna waas adopted in Slovakia, however, Slovakia adopted the euro as its official currency in 2009. The Czech koruna is no longer dependent on the currency of any other country.

Czech koruna – information about the currency

The Czech koruna is divided into 100 haleres, but in practice, in 2009, all haleres coins were withdrawn from circulation. Therefore, when paying in the Czech Republic, you will encounter only “full” prices, for example 100 Czech korunas instead of CZK 99.99. The smallest denomination of a coin is 1 Czech crown, followed by 2 Kč, 5 Kč – all three are made of nickel-plated steel and their characteristic features are silver colour and the reverse with a large number of the denomination. In the case of all CZK coins, on the obverse we can see the Czech lion coat of arms. The other three Czech koruna coins differ in colour and denomination. In the case of 10 Kč it is steel covered with copper and on the reverse we can see the Brno Cathedral, the 20 Czech korunas coin owes its characteristic golden colour to steel covered with tinned copper. Whereas CZK 50 is a colour combination of the two above denominations – the coin consists of two rings, and on the reverse we see the royal castle in Hradcany. The Czech currency has banknotes in circulation with six denominations: 100 Kč, 200 Kč, 500 Kč, 1000 Kč, 2000 Kč, 5000 Kč. Each of them represents important people for the country, e.g. politicians, artists, and social activists. The banknotes of Czech crowns vary in colour and size. Czech crowns are only produced by one Czech Mint.

The Czech koruna is unlikely to be replaced by the euro any time soon. Although the Czech Republic, through its membership in the EU, is obliged to adopt the single currency and meets the conditions for admission to the monetary union, the process has been delayed. Czechs are very attached to their currency (CZK) and only a small percentage of the population wants the Czech koruna to give way to the euro.