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Slovak 2 EUR 2024 - 100th anniversary of the Košice International Marathon proof
Personal pickup at the store
The year 2024 marks 100 years since the first Košice running marathon. This anniversary is commemorated by a Slovak commemorative coin minted in proof.
When the Greeks defeated the Persians at the Battle of Marathon in 495 BC, they sent a messenger to take the news to Athens. A man named Feidippides ran forty-two miles without stop, and as soon as he delivered the message, he died of exhaustion... The story of the ancient runner's dedication and tenacity has gone down in history and inspired generations hundreds and thousands of years later. Running marathon became part of the Olympics in 1896. Then in 1924, when the Summer Games in Paris were visited by the athlete Vojtech Bukovský from Košice, he fell in love with the idea of an endurance race. A few weeks later, eight enthusiasts took to the start line under the ruins of Turnian Castle and headed to Košice. The course was measured exactly according to the regulations, at 42.195 km. The first winner of the marathon in the east of Slovakia was the local runner Karol Halla, but the very next year was already international. The Košice International Marathon became the oldest in Europe and the third oldest in the world after the Boston and New York marathons...
Medal maker Mgr. Roman Lugár dedicated the obverse side of the coin to the marathon runner and the St. Elizabeth Cathedral, which is an architectural landmark of Košice. The relief is supplemented with the texts KOŠICKÝ MARATÓN, SLOVAKIA, anniversary years 1924-2024 and the stars of the European Union. The reverse side then presents all the requirements of a valid coin with a nominal value of 2€.
The base metal commemorative coin was minted by the Mincovňa Kremnica Mint and issued by the National Bank of Slovakia.
