Termination of validity of 50-heller coins

In accordance with CNB Decree No. 174/2008 Coll., 50-heller coins ceased to be valid on 31 August 2008. These coins can no longer be exchanged.

The invalid coins could be exchanged at the CNB’s offices in Prague, Plzeň, Hradec Králové, Brno, Ostrava, České Budějovice and Ústí nad Labem until 31 August 2014.

The amount presented for exchange in cash is rounded down to the nearest koruna. The coin exceeding the rounded amount is not exchanged. If the coins are deposited to an account with the Czech National Bank, the whole amount presented for exchange is credited.

The termination of validity was approved by the Bank Board of the Czech National Bank on 31 January 2008. As in the case of 10- and 20-heller coins, which ceased to be legal tender in 2003, 50-heller coins had gradually ceased to fulfil their functions, especially that of currency in circulation. In practice, this meant that only 10% of these coins returned from circulation to the central bank.

In connection with the withdrawal of 10-heller and 20-heller coins, the Czech Parliament approved an amendment to the Consumer Protection Act which clearly defines how vendors may proceed in rounding: “... when setting the final price to be paid in cash for goods sold and services provided, the sum shall be rounded to the nearest valid denomination of the legal tender in circulation.”

The exchange of 50-heller coins is governed by CNB Decree No. 174/2008 Coll. (pdf, 107 kB) (only Czech version).