150 years since the birth of Tomáš Baťa
Gold and silver coins
Few people know that Tomáš Baťa deliberately worked with the fear of failure and turned it into a competitive advantage. In his company, he openly shared figures, profits, and losses. Not to control, but to teach people to take responsibility like adults. Employees saw reality without embellishment, and that is precisely what turned them into small-scale entrepreneurs. Baťa believed that “a company’s greatest asset is not a machine, but human character.” That is why he invested more in education than in advertising. He built a town, a school, a library, and a movie theater because he knew that a strong company is not built in a factory, but in people’s minds.
When others were giving up, Tomáš Baťa got started.
At the end of the 19th century, Baťa’s young company was on the brink of bankruptcy. Debts, minimal capital, no security. At a time when others were throwing in the towel, Tomáš Baťa decided to go in the opposite direction, to make shoes for ordinary people.
Lightweight canvas shoes were created. Simple, affordable, functional. They weren’t luxurious, but they solved a real problem. And that is exactly what saved the company.
Baťa thus laid the foundation for his philosophy: Not to do business for the elite, but for life. Not to win through price or prestige, but through purpose.
So it wasn’t just a brand that was born out of the crisis. A legacy was born.
Silver coin
Gold coin
Obverse
The portrait of Tomáš Baťa is rendered realistically and forms the stable center of the composition.
Similar bands also extend slightly into the portrait, visually connecting both sides of the coin. One of the bands is stylized into the shape of a shoe. This shoe is rendered as a semi-transparent layer that partially blends with the portrait. It thus symbolically connects the personality with the product and expresses that Baťa’s identity was closely linked to his manufacturing. The design portrays Baťa as the creator of a system whose products flowed throughout the world.
Reverse side
The center of the coin features a relief globe with the mandatory state emblem.
Several parallel bands run across the surface, symbolizing export flows. The bands only partially overlap the globe and, in places, visually extend beneath it, creating a sense of spatial depth. Some bands feature stylized shoe motifs as a symbol of the product. The repetition creates a rhythm and expresses systematic production directed toward the world.
| Autor | Jiří Hanuš, DiS |
| Material | Au 999,9, Ag 999 |
| Weight | 7,78 g, 42 g |
| Diameter | 22 mm, 50 mm |
| Design | Proof |
| Edge | Smooth |
| Print run | 150 pcs, 500 pcs |
| Year of issue | 2026 |
| Mint | BESSERGOLD Mint s.r.o. |
The packaging for the commemorative coins dedicated to Tomáš Baťa reflects the values that were at the heart of his extraordinary legacy — precision, systematic approach, and the courage to seek new paths. The portrait of this remarkable figure is complemented by motifs inspired by the industrial environment and modern typography, which emphasizes the timelessness of his legacy.
The design thus connects history with the present and reminds us that true progress arises from work, ideas, and the courage to change the world.
You can purchase the set of medals in the online store