10 000 Korun Introduction of the Czechoslovak Currency

This piece commemorates the centenary of the Czechoslovak crown, introduced on 10 April 1919 by the newly formed Czechoslovak state following the dissolution of Austria-Hungary. The transition required extraordinary logistical effort: existing Austro-Hungarian banknotes were hastily stamped and declared legal tender while the new monetary infrastructure was assembled almost from scratch. Alois Rašín, the architect of the currency reform, deliberately engineered a deflationary policy that set Czechoslovakia apart from the hyperinflationary chaos consuming its neighbors throughout the early 1920s.

Rašín was assassinated in 1923 by an anarchist who blamed his austerity measures for economic hardship.