Czech koruna

Czech koruna

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Czech koruna

The Czech koruna (koruna means "crown") (sign: K?; code: CZK) has been the currency of the Czech Republic since February 8, 1993 when it and its Slovak counterpart both replaced the Czechoslovak koruna at par. Now 1 CZK is worth around 1.25 SKK.

The official name in Czech is koruna ?eská (the plural form is koruny ?eské, but the genitive plural form korun ?eských is usually found on banknotes). The ISO 4217 code is CZK and the local acronym is K?, which is placed after the numeric value (e.g., "50 K?"). One koruna equals 100 halé?? (abbreviated as "h", singular: halé?, nominative plural: halé?e).

The koruna has been fully convertible since 1995 and began to float in 1999.^[1] The Czech Republic planned to adopt the Euro in 2012, but its government suspended that plan in 2007.^[2] In January 2008, the Czech National Bank governor Zden?k T?ma said that the Czech Republic can adopt the Euro in 2019^[3].

History
Coins
Banknotes
Consumer price index
References
See also
External links

History

The currency was on a record exchange rate run in 2008.^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]

Coins

In 1993, coins were introduced in denominations of 10, 20 and 50 halé??, 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 korun. The halé?e (hallers) denominations were struck in aluminium, the 1, 2 and 5 korun in nickel-plated steel, the 10 korun in copper-plated steel, the 20 korun in brass-plated steel and the 50 korun with a brass-plated steel centre and a copper-plated steel ring. The 10 and 20 halé?? coins were taken out of circulation by 31 October 2003. Coins are currently in circulation are the 50 halé??, 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 korun (20 korun is more commonly found as coins, whereas 50 korun is more common as a banknote). The coins all feature the Czech lion on the obverse, with the reverse featuring the value.

Since 1997, sets for collectors are also issued yearly with proof quality coins. In 2000, the 10 and 20 korun coins were minted with different obverses to commemorate the Millennium. In the beginning coins were minted in Hamburg then in the Czech Republic. There's also a tradition of issuing commemorative coins - including silver and gold coins - for numismatic purposes.

The 50 halé?? coin as of 31 August 2008 ceased to be legal tender. The Central Bank says their withdrawal is due to their diminishing circulation and purchasing power. That is because only 10% of coins are returned to the central bank, or 41 million out of 410 million in circulation.^[8]

Banknotes

The first Czech banknotes issued in 1993 consisted of Czechoslovak notes with adhesive stamps affixed to them. Only the 100, 500 and 1000 korun denominations were overstamped, the lower denominations circulated unchanged during this transitional period. The former circulated until end-August, the latter until end-July.

A newly designed series of banknotes of denominations 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000, 2000 and 5000 korun were introduced later in 1993 and in 1994 and are all in use as of 2006 - except for the first versions of 1000 and 5000 korun notes, since the security features of these notes were upgraded in the subsequent issues (However, the 2000 note is still valid in both versions, with and without the new security features). These banknotes feature renowned Czech persons on the obverse and abstract compositions on the reverse. Modern protective elements can be found on all banknotes.

The 20 korun note ceased to be valid on 31 August 2008.