The 28th auction also offered collectors a set of gold and silver medals (8 pieces) depicting Alexander Dubček on the obverse and a map of Czechoslovakia and Hradčany – the Castle District of Prague – with the national flag on the reverse. The starting price for the set was 50 thousand euros and it was finally sold for 396 thousand. The sale price thus climbed to eight times the asking price.
Set of gold and silver medals (8 pcs) will be auctioned in the 28th auction as item No. 429. Contains ducat coins of 50 Ducat, 30 Ducat, 20 Ducat, 5, 2 and 1 Ducat, as well as two silver medals. Alexander Dubček is on the obverse and a map of Czechoslovakia and Hradčany with a flag is on the reverse. Gold ducats minted in the following numbers: 50 Ducat 50 pieces, 30 Ducat 100 pieces, 20 Ducat 150 pieces, 5 Ducat 1500 pieces, 2 Ducat 3000 pieces, and 1 Ducat 4,000 pieces. 2,000 pieces of large and 5,000 pieces of small silver proof coinage. The size is 60 mm for 50, 30 and 20 Ducat, 30 mm for 5 Ducat, 23 mm for 2 Ducat, and 18 mm for 1 Ducat. The silver medals are 60 mm and 30 mm in diameter. Only 25 numbered sets were minted in total. This set is unnumbered and bears the letter A, indicating the author's proof coinage, and is probably the only existing set with this marking.
This is a very rare set of ducat medals struck in 1968. A period which oscillated between the relaxed atmosphere of the Prague Spring and the invasion of Czechoslovakia by Warsaw Pact troops. At the time of issue, the complete set cost a staggering 2,830 German marks, which translated to over 55,000 Czechoslovak crowns plus value added tax. The delivery was at the end of September. The medals are housed in their original hard leatherette etui with the metal logo of Deutsche Numismatik. Included is a black-and-white certificate with the number of pieces struck and a photocopy of a page from the Numismatik List, which mentions the upcoming new mintage of these medals and the possibility of purchasing them for members of the Czech Numismatic Society.
