The koruna, or crown, (
sign: Kč;
code: CZK, cs, koruna česká) has been the currency of the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
since 1993. The koruna is one of the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...
's 9 currencies, and the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
is legally bound to
adopt the euro currency in the future.
The official name in
Czech
Czech may refer to:
* Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe
** Czech language
** Czechs, the people of the area
** Czech culture
** Czech cuisine
* One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus'
Places
* Czech, ...
is (plural , though the
zero-grade genitive plural
The plural (sometimes abbreviated pl., pl, or ), in many languages, is one of the values of the grammatical category of number. The plural of a noun typically denotes a quantity greater than the default quantity represented by that noun. This de ...
form is used on banknotes and coins of value 5 Kč or higher). The
ISO 4217 code is CZK and the local acronym is Kč, which is placed after the numeric value (e.g., "50 Kč") or sometimes before it (as is seen on the 10-koruna coin). One crown is made up of 100 ''
hellers'' (abbreviated as "h", official name in Czech:
singular: ,
nominative plural
The plural (sometimes abbreviated pl., pl, or ), in many languages, is one of the values of the grammatical category of number. The plural of a noun typically denotes a quantity greater than the default quantity represented by that noun. This de ...
: ,
genitive plural
The plural (sometimes abbreviated pl., pl, or ), in many languages, is one of the values of the grammatical category of number. The plural of a noun typically denotes a quantity greater than the default quantity represented by that noun. This de ...
: – used with numbers higher or equal to 5 – e.g. ), but hellers have now been withdrawn from circulation, and the smallest unit of physical currency is 1 Kč.
History
In 1892, the
Austro-Hungarian crown
The crown (german: Krone, hu, korona, it, Corona, pl, korona, sl, krona, sh, kruna, cz, koruna, sk, koruna, ro, coroană) was the official currency of Austria-Hungary from 1892 (when it replaced the florin as part of the adoption of the ...
replaced the
florin, at the rate of one florin to two crowns (which is also the reason why the 10 Kč coin had been nicknamed or "fiver" - and has been in use in informal conversation up until nowadays). The name was suggested by the emperor,
Franz Joseph I of Austria
Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (german: Franz Joseph Karl, hu, Ferenc József Károly, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 2 December 1848 until his ...
. After Austria-Hungary dissolved in 1918,
Czechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
was the only successor state to retain the name of its imperial-era currency. In the late 1920s, the Czechoslovak crown was the hardest currency in Europe. During the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...
, the currency on the occupied Czech territory was artificially weakened. The Czechoslovak crown was restored after the war. It underwent a highly controversial monetary reform in 1953.
The Czech koruna replaced the
Czechoslovakian crown when it was introduced in 1993 after the dissolution of
Czechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
. It first consisted of overstamped 20 Kčs, 50 Kčs, 100 Kčs, 500 Kčs, and 1,000 Kčs banknotes, and a new series was properly introduced in 1993.
In November 2013, the
Czech National Bank
The Czech National Bank, ( cs, Česká národní banka, ČNB) is the central bank and financial market supervisor in the Czech Republic, headquartered in Prague. It is and a member of the European System of Central Banks. It was established on ...
(ČNB) intervened to weaken the exchange rate of the koruna through a
monetary stimulus to stop the currency from excessive strengthening. This was meant to support the Czech economy, mainly focused on export, but people were unhappy about this step because it was set up before Christmas, which led to raising the prices of imported goods. In late 2016, the ČNB stated that the return to conventional monetary policy was planned for mid-2017. After higher-than-expected inflation and other figures, the national bank removed the cap at a special monetary meeting on April 6, 2017. The koruna avoided significant volatility and
City Index Group
City Index is a global spread betting, FX and CFD Trading provider. City Index is part of the Nasdaq listed StoneX Group and is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK, The Australian Services and Investment Commission in Austr ...
stated: "If you want to drop a
currency peg
A fixed exchange rate, often called a pegged exchange rate, is a type of exchange rate regime in which a currency's value is fixed or pegged by a monetary authority against the value of another currency, a basket of other currencies, or another m ...
, then the ČNB can show you how to do it".
Euro adoption discussion
The Czech Republic planned to adopt the
euro
The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...
in 2010, but its government suspended that plan indefinitely in 2005. Although the country is economically well positioned to adopt the euro, there is considerable opposition to the move within the Czech Republic. According to a survey conducted in April 2014, only 16% of the Czech population was in favour of replacing the koruna with the euro.
As reported by an April 2018 survey by CVVM (Public Opinion Research Center), this value has remained at nearly identical levels over the past four years, with only 20% of the Czech population above 15 years old supporting euro adoption.
Coins
The coins of the Czech koruna increase in size and weight with value.
In 1993, coins were introduced in denominations of 10, 20 and 50 hellers (h), 1 Kč, 2 Kč, 5 Kč, 10 Kč, 20 Kč and 50 Kč. The 10 h and 20 h coins were taken out of circulation by 31 October 2003 and the 50 h coins by 31 August 2008 due to their diminishing purchasing power and circulation. However, financial amounts are still written with the accuracy of 1-haléř (CZK 0.01); prices in retail shops are usually multiples of CZK 0.10. When cash transactions are made, the amount is rounded to the nearest integer.
In 2000, the 10 Kč and 20 Kč coins were minted with different obverses to commemorate the
millennium
A millennium (plural millennia or millenniums) is a period of one thousand years, sometimes called a kiloannum (ka), or kiloyear (ky). Normally, the word is used specifically for periods of a thousand years that begin at the starting point (ini ...
. In 1993 and 1994, coins were minted in
Winnipeg
Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749, ...
and
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
, then in the Czech Republic. The 10 Kč and 50 Kč coins were designed by (1934–2007).
Since 1997, sets for collectors are also issued yearly with proof-quality coins. Also, a tradition exists of issuing commemorative coins – including silver and gold coins – for numismatic purposes.
For a complete listing, see
Commemorative coins of the Czech Republic The Czech National Bank issues 200 / 500 Koruna (Kč) silver commemorative coins and golden commemorative coins of various denominations. The golden coins are issued in thematic sets – Bohemian crown set, Charles IV set, Ten centuries of archite ...
.
Banknotes
The first Czech banknotes were issued on 8 February 1993 and consisted of Czechoslovak notes with adhesive stamps affixed to them. Only the 100 Kčs, 500 Kčs and 1,000 Kčs notes were overstamped, the lower denominations circulated unchanged during this transitional period. Each stamp bears a Roman and Arabic numeral identifying the denomination of the banknote to which it is affixed (C and 100, D and 500, M and 1,000). Subsequent issues of the 1,000 Kč note replaced the adhesive stamp with a printed image of same.
A newly designed series of banknotes in denominations of 20 Kč, 50 Kč, 100 Kč, 200 Kč, 500 Kč, 1,000 Kč and 5,000 Kč were introduced later in 1993 and are still in use at present – except for 20 Kč, 50 Kč and the first versions of 1,000 Kč and 5,000 Kč notes, since the security features of 1,000 Kč and 5,000 Kč notes were upgraded in the subsequent issues (The 2,000 Kč note, which was introduced in 1996, is still valid in all 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.
In 2007, the Czech National Bank started issuing new upgraded banknotes with upgraded security features. These include a new colour-shifting security thread, additional watermarks and EURion constellations. The first denomination to be issued with the new features was the 2,000 Kč, followed by the 1,000 Kč in 2008, the 500 Kč and 5,000 Kč in 2009 and finally ending with the issuance of the 100 Kč and 200 Kč notes in 2018.
Stamped banknotes
Current banknotes
Upgraded banknotes
Commemorative banknotes
Exchange rates
Historic rates
![Euro exchange rate to CZK](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e0/Euro_exchange_rate_to_CZK.svg)
The currency had a record
exchange rate run in 2008.
Most traded currencies (since 31 December 2008):
Current rates
See also
*
Bohemia and Moravia crown
*
Commemorative coins of the Czech Republic The Czech National Bank issues 200 / 500 Koruna (Kč) silver commemorative coins and golden commemorative coins of various denominations. The golden coins are issued in thematic sets – Bohemian crown set, Charles IV set, Ten centuries of archite ...
*
Czech Republic and the euro
The Czech Republic is bound to adopt the euro in the future and to join the eurozone once it has satisfied the euro convergence criteria by the Treaty of Accession since it joined the European Union (EU) in 2004. The Czech Republic is therefore a ...
*
Czechoslovak crown
*
Economy of the Czech Republic
*
Slovak crown
References
External links
Czech banknotes Czech National Bank
Czech coins Czech National Bank
Czech banknotes (catalog, gallery and other details, history)*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Czech koruna
Currencies of the Czech Republic
Currencies introduced in 1993
Currency symbols