People Queued Overnight for the Anniversary 5,000-Crown Banknote

On Monday night and into Tuesday morning, hours-long queues formed outside branches of the Czech National Bank in Prague, Brno, Ostrava and Hradec Králové, as people tried to be among the first to exchange their money for the commemorative 5,000-crown banknote issued to mark the 100th anniversary of the National Bank of Czechoslovakia. Some took their place in line as early as Monday evening — more than 14 hours before the counters opened.

In Prague, some of those waiting brought folding chairs and blankets, with a number of people in line since three or four in the morning. According to eyewitnesses, police kept an eye on order, but there was no crush at the entrance — people waited patiently and in an orderly manner. One visitor admitted he was collecting the maximum allowed three banknotes, but refused to explain why, only remarking: "Well, of course, their value is only going to go up."

Long Queues Across the Regions

In Hradec Králové, the line outside the bank branch stretched along Bozděchova and Karla Čapka streets well before half past seven in the morning. The first person arrived at the bank half an hour before midnight on Monday, and those waiting even managed to set up a makeshift canopy and bring in a portable toilet on a trailer — though everything was cleared away by morning. Bank staff let in groups of ten people at a time.

In Brno, the queue stretched around 280 metres — from the branch on Roosevelt Street all the way to the Měnín Gate on Orlí Street. Student David Pietroš spent more than 14 hours in line and ended up first on the list. "I study here, so this was my first adventure of this kind. We had great company, and the time flew by," he said after receiving his banknote. One collector, Jiří Bádal, travelled from Jevíčko in the Svitavy region, arriving at around half past two in the morning — though some came from even farther afield, including Karlovy Vary.

In Ostrava, the queue outside the branch on Nádražní Street had grown to around 250 metres by eight in the morning, wrapping around almost the entire block, with people standing two or three abreast, undeterred by the rain. A Slovak man named Juraj, 40, joined the line at three in the morning and ended up 40th in the queue — as a banknote and coin collector, he simply couldn't pass up the opportunity. Meanwhile, 77-year-old Ostrava resident Božena got in line at two in the morning and reached her spot within the hour. "The first hour was tough, but after that it got easier," she admitted, adding that the banknote mattered for her children's future.

What Makes the New Banknote Special

The banknote was issued with a special overprint marking the 100th anniversary of the Czech National Bank, featuring a dedicated logo and two portraits of Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, the first president of Czechoslovakia. It also carries a QR code linking to the bank's dedicated anniversary webpage. Otherwise, in both appearance and function, it is identical to a regular 5,000-crown note and can be used for everyday payments.

According to the bank, the collector's value of the banknote is likely to exceed its face value over time — as has happened with previous commemorative notes. The print run is limited to 200,000 pieces, and the banknote can only be obtained at the counters of Czech National Bank branches in Prague, Brno, Ostrava and Hradec Králové, by exchanging a regular 5,000-crown note in cash. There's a limit of three banknotes per person, and they will be issued until stocks run out.

Earlier this year, to mark the same anniversary, the bank had already issued a commemorative 100-crown banknote featuring a portrait of Vilém Pospíšil, the first governor of the National Bank of Czechoslovakia, with a print run of 20,000 pieces — but unlike the new 5,000-crown note, that one cannot be used in everyday transactions.

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Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz