2020-07-06 Mon

Jan Hus Day is annually observed on July 6 to commemorate the death of the religious reformer in 1415. Jan Hus was born in 1369 in Business, Bohemia. He became a priest in 1402 and started preaching in Prague.

Hus's opinion was different from the doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church. He was influenced by the writings of John Wycliffe that is why he wasn’t afraid to demand reformation of the Church. Hus was arrested in 1414 and tried in June. He was sentenced to death. Jan Hus was executed on July 6, 1415. He was burned on a stake together with his writings, which were against the doctrines of the Catholic Church.

On 3 July 2015, the Czech National Bank is putting into circulation a CZK 10,000 gold coin to mark the 600th anniversary of the burning at the stake of Jan Hus. The coin is minted from 999.9 purity gold and is issued in two versions, normal quality and proof quality.

The obverse side features a motif of a cross. The upper part of the coin contains a composition of heraldic animals from the large national emblem of the Czech Republic located in shields – the Czech lion in the middle, the Silesian eagle to the right, and the Moravian eagle to the left. The Czech lion is located is in the upper part of the cross.

The reverse side features a stylized figure of Jan Hus. The text “MISTR JAN HUS” is to the left and the years “1415 – 2015” to the right of the figure. The figure and the texts form a stylized cross. The initials of the designer of the coin, Jakub Orava – the letter “O” in a frame – is situated to the right of the year “2015”.

Imag Courtesy: cnb.cz