Slovakia. Silver Collector Coins Mark 100th Anniversary of First European Ice Hockey Championships

This year Slovakia remembers the tournament of The European Ice Hockey Championship which took place in the towns of Štrbské Pleso and Starý Smokovec. Originally scheduled to be held in the Czechoslovakian capital city of Prague, the game originally referred to as Canadian Hockey and organised under the auspices of the International Ice Hockey Federation had to be moved to another location due to poor weather conditions. As such, the first top hockey event with the participation of national teams in Czechoslovak territory took place from the 8th to the 11th January 1925.

The weather also complicated life for the organizers in the High Tatra Mountains, a range along the border of northern Slovakia and where the tournament was relocated to. Despite its challenges, they were finally able to successfully manage the championship in the two locations chosen. Teams from Czechoslovakia, Belgium, Austria and Switzerland participated in the championship and, the Czechoslovak team who made the most of the home advantage took the gold medal. The silver medal was awarded to the Austrian national team and the bronze medal was awarded to national team from Switzerland. Since the Czechoslovak national team won the gold at the European Canadian Hockey Championships, Canadian hockey became significantly more popular in Slovakia whose players were previously preoccupied with bandy hockey, also played on ice but with a ball instead of a puck. Today, the Slovakian men's national ice hockey team, governed by the Slovak Ice Hockey Federation is one of the most successful national ice hockey teams in the world. After the establishment of separate Czech and Slovak Republics in 1991, Slovakia's first appearance in an elite ice hockey competition was at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer. In 2022, the Slovak national team claimed their first ever Olympic medal after defeating Sweden 4 - 0 and were awarded the bronze medal.

The coins are produced by the Kremnica Mint at their facilities in Central Slovakia on behalf of the National Bank of Slovakia and designed by the artist Karol Licko. The obverse side features a composition depicting a positional snapshot of a hockey game in front of the goal with a defending goalkeeper and a hockey player ready to intervene in the match in Starý Smokovec. To the right is the national emblem of the Slovak Republic and to the left of the goalkeeper is the distinctive mintmark of the Kremnica Mint consisting of the abbreviation MK placed between two dies. Below the primary design is the name of the country SLOVENSKO (Slovakia) and the year 2025.The reverse side depicts a hockey player in motion, dressed in the team uniform of the era. In the background is a panorama of the High Tatras Mountains. Just below the hockey player is the denomination 10 EURO. Along the upper rim is the inscription MAJSTROVSTVÁ (Championships) and along the lower rim is the additional text EURÓPY V HOKEJI (Hockey in Europe) and the anniversary year 1925.

Available from the 20^th January, The proof quality and BU coins are encapsulated and presented in a case accompanied with a certificate of authenticity. For additional information, please visit the e-webshop of the Kremnica Mint – official distributors.