TCHCC traces evolution of the U.S. dollar from the Czech Lands

  • The Jáchymov tolar from 1529. The Tolar is one of the important legacies that Czechs gave to the world.
    The Jáchymov tolar from 1529. The Tolar is one of the important legacies that Czechs gave to the world.

    Make plans to be at the Texas Czech Heritage and Cultural Center (TCHCC) in La Grange on Friday, Jan. 12, for the opening of “From the Silver Czech Tolar to the U.S. Dollar,” a traveling exhibition presented by the East Bohemia Museum in Pardubice and the University of Pardubice, Czech Republic.

    The 10-panel display will familiarize attendees with the history the tolar — the ancestor of all dollars — which was first minted more than 500 years ago in Bohemia in the present-day town of Jáchymov and in accordance to exacting standards of weight and silver composition.

    Dr. Petr Vorel, Czech historian, numismatist and Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Philosophy at the University of Pardubice and his team from the Czech Republic will be present for the exhibit opening and will deliver a short presentation.

    Dr. Vorel’s long-term research interest is the economic and political history of Central Europe with an emphasis on the history of monetary circulation. He is the author of numerous books, including From the Silver Czech Tolar to a Worldwide Dollar: The Birth of the Dollar and its Journey of Monetary Circulation in Europe and the World from the 16to to the 20th Century.

    A reception will follow in the Hanslik Hall. The exhibit will run from Jan. 12 through mid-May. TCHCC is located at 250 West Fairgrounds Road in La Grange.

    For more information, contact TCHCC by email at info@czechtexas.org or call 888-785-4500.