500 Korun

The Czech National Bank's inaugural series — of which this is part — was rushed into production almost immediately after the peaceful dissolution of Czechoslovakia on 1 January 1993. Czechoslovak currency remained legal tender during a brief transitional window, then was officially replaced in February 1993 through a stamp-validation exercise that gave the new state its own monetary identity almost overnight. Thomas De La Rue handled the printing under considerable time pressure.

Kulhánek designed the full CNB founding series, and Fajt's engraving work on it is among the finer intaglio output associated with Czech note production of the period. Worth noting for a note of this transitional moment.