Famous steam locomotives

The new edition of coloured silver coins of the Czech Mint called Famous Locomotives opens with the legendary Flying Scotsman, a treasure of British engineering.

The Industrial Revolution was in full swing in 1862 and the British Isles saw the launch of a regular rail link between England and Scotland. The line between London's King's Cross station and Waverley station in Edinburgh became known as the Flying Scotsman. However, in the 20th century this nickname was 'usurped' by one particular train set, whose official designation was LNER Class A3 4472. What made this steam locomotive, which first ran in 1923, so special? It was the first in the world to break 100 miles per hour. The cutting edge of engineering at the time, it was both exceptionally fast and fiercely elegant, perfectly supporting the proud image of the British Empire. It appeared on posters and postage stamps and became famous around the world. However, the steam traction gradually became obsolete and operation of the set, which covered over 2 million miles in 40 years, was discontinued in 1963. After that, the Flying Scotsman became a museum exhibit. However, the symbol of British engineering doesn't stand still - it can still be seen on the rails more than 100 years after its creation...

The reverse side of the coin, which is the work of the medal maker Mgr. Petr Horák, presents a locomotive passing through the zeros in the inscription SPEED OF 100 MILES PER HOUR. Its name, FLYING SCOTSMAN, is embedded in the smoke billowing from the chimney. The locomotive's distinctive green paint was created using colouring technology. The obverse side of the coin, which is common to the entire cycle, then presents the railway tracks and tunnel. As the coins of the Czech Mint are issued under the foreign licence of the island of Niue, the obverse side also bears its national emblem, the nominal value of 1 DOLLAR (NZD) and the year of issue 2024.

You can save coins dedicated to famous locomotives in a collector's album which you can also find in the offer of the Czech Mint.