Czech Republic is also one of the European countries which still uses their national – local currency
Therefore you will need to be alert on how you will deal with the local currency.
History of Czech currency
Czech Crown (Kč or CZK in short) is there since 1993 when Czechoslovakia splint into several countries – namely Czech and Slovak republics, each creating their own currency. Slovak crowns don’t exists anymore because Slovakia adopted the Euro in 2008.
One crown is divided to 100 hellers, but you will only notice this in shops where the prices are rounded before payment. Heller coins are no longer used, because their value was so low that Czech National bank decided to stop using them.
Exchange office change at unprofitable exchange rates – sometimes!
Most exchange offices do not charge fees but if you change some lower sum of money you will be charged according to an unreasonably low exchange rate, for example twenty-three Czech crowns (instead of advertised 26,00 Czech crowns) which makes the whole transaction not profitable but in fact losing. This behaviour is seen in many countries, and at the edge of being a scamtechnique – also seen on the streets.
Therefore: Never change a money on the street.
After exhanging money, please control every banknote! All of them have “KORUN ČESKÝCH” on the second line! If not – dont take it!
Czech currency:
Banknotes
Never change a money on the street. After any exhange, control every banknote! All of them have “KORUN ČESKÝCH” written on the second line! If not – dont take it!
Each of the six Czech banknotes shows one of the famous historical Czech persons on the front side, while the back side, features another, picture connected with the person.
-100 crown banknote is green with Charles IV. on the front side. The back side shows seal of Charles university in Prague.
-200 crown banknote is brown-orange with John Amos Comenius (famous teacher from the middle age) on the front side. The back side shows hand giving Comenius´s book to other hand.
-500 crown banknote is pink-brown with Božena Němcová, famous Czech writer on the front side. The back side shows woman, symbolizing woman characters in her books.
-1000 crown banknote shows František Palacký, historian and politician from 19th century. The banknote is violet with Kroměříž castle on the back side.
-2000 crown, is green and shows Emma Destinová, Czech singer. The back side shows musical motives.
-5000 crowns, is the biggest Czech banknote, showing Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, first president of Czechoslovakia. The back side shows historical buildings of Prague.
Coins
There are totally 6 coins in Czech Republic with value from 1 crown to 50 crowns. All of them are magnetic – and a fun souvenier to keep. The back side of the coin always shows Czech lion with sign Česká Republika and the year it was minted.
-1 crown coin is perfectly round with 80 milles around. It´s made of nickel plated steel and it´s the smallest unit of CZK. It features St. Wenceslas crown in the front side and Czech lion on the back side.
-2 crown coin is 11-sided, made of nickel plated steel. The front side features button jewel from age of Great Moravia, back side shows lion again.
-5 crown coin is round with plain edge. The front side shows Charles Bridge in Prague.
-10 crown coin is made of copper plated steel and has round and milled edge. There are two variations of this coin, one of them shows Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul in Brno, the second shows clockwork.
-20 crown coin is made of brass plated steel and it has rounded and plain edge. The front side shows St. Wenceslas on his horse with sign that means “St. Wenceslas, don´t let our and futures generations die” in translation.
-50 crown coin is made of combination of copper and brass plated steel and it´s the only double-material Czech coin. The front side features Prague.
The “money drop” scam:
Especially in the old town of Prague, the money drop scam is quite common. An unsuspecting victim picks up a dropped wallet, but is then accused of having stolen from it and coerced into paying. Pickpocketing is also common, where only few incidents of credit card fraud have been reported.
In addition, there are reports of suspected drugging of drinks. General awareness and monitoring can help guard against criminal activities. Bringing Ansnei along will surely keep you safe !
Ansnei – KEEPING YOU SAFE !
