2 Euro Croatia 2026 - 100 Years of Croatian Radio and Television

2 Euro Croatia 2026 - 100 Years of Croatian Radio and Television

In 2026, Croatia will celebrate a century of national broadcasting with a commemorative 2-euro coin dedicated to the 100th anniversary of Hrvatska radiotelevizija, better known by its acronym HRT. This public institution, which today encompasses the country’s main national radio and television networks, plays a vital role in the country’s cultural, social, and informational life.

The history of HRT began with Radio Zagreb, whose first broadcast aired on May 15, 1926, at 8:30 p.m., on a medium-wave frequency of 350 meters. This event marked Croatia’s entry into the era of broadcasting. Over the decades, radio expanded and was later joined by television and new digital media, enabling HRT to become the central public broadcasting organization of the Republic of Croatia.

The national side of the coin features five lines representing the propagation of radio waves. This motif directly symbolizes Radio Zagreb’s first broadcast as well as the transmission of sound and information across the country. The inscriptions “100 GODINA HRVATSKE RADIOTELEVIZIJE,” the year “2026,” and the country code “HR” are integrated within the radio waves to form a particularly modern graphic composition.

The combination of the radio waves and the surface of the coin’s center also subtly evokes the Croatian checkerboard pattern, one of the main elements of the national coat of arms. The design was created by the academic sculptor Karlo Gross, whose stylized initials “KG” appear on the national side. The coin is struck by the Hrvatska kovnica novca, the Croatian Mint. National Bank of Croatia

The edge bears the inscription “O LIJEPA O DRAGA O SLATKA SLOBODO,” which can be translated as “O beautiful, O dear, O sweet freedom.” This phrase is taken from the “Hymn to Freedom,” part of the pastoral play *Dubravka* by the Croatian poet Ivan Gundulić, written in the 17th century. The outer ring features the twelve stars of the European flag.

Mintage: 190,000 pieces

Uncirculatedquality