100 Korun

Max Švabinský was one of the most celebrated Czech graphic artists of the twentieth century, and the Národní Banka Československá drew on that prestige deliberately — the commission was as much about cultural confidence as monetary design. Ferdinand Schirnböck, the Viennese engraver who translated Švabinský's composition into intaglio, had worked extensively for the Austrian State Printing Office before the dissolution of the empire, making him an interesting inherited connection to the old Habsburg printing establishment.

Česká Grafická Unie printed this series domestically, a point of some national pride for an interwar republic still establishing its institutional identity. The 1931 date places this note squarely in the opening years of the global depression, when the koruna was under pressure and public confidence in banking institutions across Central Europe was fraying badly.