50 CZK #144

Front

Saint Agnes of Bohemia (Svatá Anežka Česká, 1211–1282), princess of Bohemia, daughter of King Ottokar I, and founder of the Hospital of St. Francis and the Order of the Crusaders with the Red Star in Prague. She devoted her life to charitable work and the care of the sick, declining marriage proposals from European royalty including Emperor Frederick II. She was canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1989, shortly before the Velvet Revolution, and became a symbol of Czech national and spiritual identity. The Sacred Heart emblem appears at center, representing her religious devotion.

Back

The Czech coat of arms (quartered shield with the Bohemian lion, Moravian eagle, and Silesian eagle) alongside an open book symbolizing knowledge and education. The ornate letter 'A' at center references Saint Agnes (Anežka in Czech). The inscription 'VE TŘESTA RODIE ZAKONA' (In the third year of the law) appears at bottom, referring to the legal framework of the newly independent Czech Republic following the dissolution of Czechoslovakia on January 1, 1993.

History

This note belongs to the first series issued by the newly independent Czech Republic following the peaceful dissolution of Czechoslovakia on January 1, 1993 (the 'Velvet Divorce'). These notes were created by overprinting or modifying Czechoslovak currency designs as an emergency measure while new Czech currency was designed. The 50 korun denomination featuring Saint Agnes was issued in 1993 and quickly replaced by a second series in 1994. Saint Agnes was chosen as a unifying symbol—her 1989 canonization had been seen as providential timing just before the Velvet Revolution ended communist rule. This transitional series circulated only briefly during the critical first year of Czech independence.