The traditional Ducat series of the Czech Mint consists of four gold medals, the specifications of which are based on the Medieval gold ducat coin. The 2023 issue commemorates the Battle of Marchfeld.
The Mint says about it:
Contemporaries of Ottokar II of Bohemia bestowed the monarch with the admiring title of "the Iron and Gold King". The first part of the nickname, earned by the heavily clad knights, symbolized the king's strength. The second attribute expressed his wealth, which came from the silver mines in the Jihlava region. Ottokar II was an excellent politician and warrior. At the height of his fame as the fifth king of the Přemyslid dynasty, he ruled over Bohemia, Austria, Styria, Carinthia and Carniola.
Although this mighty confederation reached as far as the Adriatic coast, the most powerful man of Central Europe dreamed in vain of the crown of the Holy Roman Empire. When his rival Rudolf of Habsburg was elected King of Rome, he denied Ottokar the right to the vast Alpine lands so that he could seize them himself. The Bohemian king crusaded against him and on 26 August 1278 they clashed in a battle on the Moravian Field. The strength of Ottokar's cavalry was unprecedented, however, as a knight of honour he underestimated the enemy, who did not hesitate to resort to a sneak attack from ambush. Despite Rudolf's orders, Ottokar was ignominiously killed and his body was displayed in public so that there could be no doubt that he had indeed fallen. His remains were then moved many times. Only Charles IV, who held the legacy of his Přemyslid ancestors in high esteem, had his great-grandfather buried in the new royal tomb in St. Vitus Cathedral. Ottokar's bones rested here under a tombstone with a statue of a knight in armour and a crown on his head.
The obverse sides of each ducat commemorate the life and death of Ottokar II of Bohemia. The ducat is decorated with the king's coin - bracteate, where a two-tailed Czech lion appeared for the first time. The double ducat bears the king's portrait - a half-figure inspired by the statue at the Powder Tower. The five-ducat bears the king preparing for battle - a knight on horseback taken from the Gelnhausen Codex. The ten-ducat presents the king's "tumba" - a decorated tomb. The additional motif in all cases is a rosette from the Golden Crown Monastery, founded by the king. The reverse sides present the monarch's relics. His skull, which was dissected in the battle on the Moravian Field, his funeral crown and the Latin inscription taken from this jewel - HIC SUNT OSSA OTACARI INCLITI REGIS BOHEMIE QUINTI (here are the bones of Ottokar, the famous fifth King of Bohemia). All this is the work of medal maker Petr Horák. |
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