Czech Lion bullion coin with hologram

A unique coin - the world‘s first coin with holographic embossing in pure gold was minted in the Czech Republic in 1999. It was a bi-metallic commemorative coin produced by the Czech Mint for the Czech National Bank on the occasion of the end of the second millennium. At that time, the mintage consisted of simple binary microstructures, however today‘s technology is at an incomparably higher level. There are currently only a few workplaces in the world that can design and produce non-binary holographic structures, and the Czech company IQ Structures belongs to technological leaders. In 2020, this company in cooperation with the Czech Mint created the “Czech Security Check” hologram, which protects selected coins from the “Czech Lion” series from counterfeiting. Since holograms are not only a protective element, but also a decorative one, both companies decided to venture even further in 2023. Instead of a small piece, they dedicated a significant part of the reverse side of the coin to the embossed hologram. Although the hologram looks very three-dimensional, do not be fooled. It is virtually flat and cannot be touched. The motif is made up of microscopic reliefs with detail starting at the nanometer scale - i.e. billionths of a meter. That's a thousand times less than the thickness of a human hair!
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