Armored vehicles

The tenth gold coin of the Czech Mint from the series Armoured Technology features the German Panzerkampfwagen IV tank that served during the Second World War.

The first pieces of the German PzKpfw IV medium tank were built in 1937. In 1939 and 1940, they successfully participated in the campaigns in Poland and Western Europe. The main armament of the early variants of this armoured vehicle was the 75mm short-barrelled gun which could destroy both French and British machines, but when the Third Reich attacked the Soviet Union, it had no chance against the advanced T-34 and KV-1 types. Because the development of new tanks was lengthy, the Panzer IV was hastily armed with a long 75mm gun. This allowed the tank, originally intended to support attacking infantry and destroy fortified positions, to participate in tank battles on all fronts. Continuous upgrades allowed the Panzer IV to keep pace with its Soviet counterparts and the American Sherman tanks it first encountered in North Africa. A number of self-propelled guns and anti-aircraft tanks were also built on its chassis. In 1944, the Nazis considered to stop production in favour of the Panther and Tiger, however, the very favourable ratio of production costs to overall combat value eventually changed their minds. With nearly 10,000 examples, the Panzer IV was the only German tank produced and used throughout World War II.

The reverse side of the commemorative coin, which is the work of the medal maker MgA. Martin Dašek, presents two depictions of a German tank - the three-quarter view is supplemented with a side silhouette. An inscription of the PzKpfw IV and a detail of the tank belt complete the composition. The stripes can also be found on the obverse side of the coin, which is common to the entire tank series. As the licence to issue commemorative coins of the Czech Mint is granted by the Pacific island of Niue, the obverse side bears its necessary attributes - the national emblem, the nominal value of 5 DOLLARS (NZD) and the year of issue 2024.

The coin comes with a narrative packaging in the form of a catalogue card full of period photographs, interesting facts and tactical and technical data. You can store the individual cards in a collector's binder that you can also find in the offer of the Czech Mint.