On the occasion of the liberation of the occupied parts of northern Dalmatia, Lika, Kordun, and Banovina, as well as the Croatian royal city of Knin, as part of the military and police operation “Storm” in August 1995, the Croatian National Bank (at the time the National Bank of Croatia) issued the gold ducat “Croatian Royal City of Knin”.
On the obverse of the ducat, in the central part, is the coat of arms of the Republic of Croatia placed on a series of laurel leaves. The entire depiction is bordered by a circle. In the lower semicircle, horizontally, is an old Croatian interlace. Above the coat of arms is the semicircular inscription „REPUBLIKA HRVATSKA“, and below it „JEDAN DUKAT“.
The reverse side depicts a panorama of the city of Knin, dominated by the Knin Fortress with a prominent Croatian flag. In the upper semicircle, to the right of the fortress, is the symbolic crown of Croatian King Zvonimir. The entire design is enclosed by a circle. Encircling everything is the semi-circular inscription „HRVATSKI KRALJEVSKI GRAD KNIN / ◆ 5. KOLOVOZA 1995. ◆“
The rim of this gold ducat is smooth.
The ducat is made of .986 fine gold, has a mass of 3.50 g and a diameter of 20 mm, and was minted in 3,000 copies. It was released for sale on October 9, 1995.
The ducat is placed in a red velour box and comes with a corresponding numbered certificate.
The author of the artistic design for this ducat is Damir Mataušić, an academic sculptor, and the ducat was produced at the Croatian Monetary Institute (today the Croatian Mint).
Edited: Zlatko Viščević
Photos: Croatian National Bank [https://www.hnb.hr/]
