The Prague Post
October 13th, 2008
Endowment Fund     Business Listings ONLINE      Reservations      Classifieds    Subscriptions
Prague accommodation
Prague Real Estate

Home » Archives » Banking & Finance

Time to kiss the heller goodbye

Coin to be retired next year, the national bank says

By Paul Voosen
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
August 8th, 2007 issue

In a move that could lighten the pockets and purses of residents nationwide, the Czech National Bank (ČNB) has announced that, as of Sept. 1, 2008, the 50-heller coin will no longer be considered legal tender.
Beginning from that date, commercial banks will exchange invalid coins for one year. Should you discover a hoard of hellers several years from now, the ČNB will exchange the coin up to August 2014 — by then, the euro should be the national currency.
The coin is worth approximately 2.5 U.S. cents.
The bank announced the move in an Aug. 2 press release.
“Fifty-heller coins are ceasing to fulfill their function as circulating currency,” said Pavel Řežábek, the ČNB’s chief executive director. “A total of 410 million such coins are currently in circulation, representing 41 per person — including babies.”
Like its obsolete smaller siblings — the 10-heller and 20-heller coins, which were retired in 2003 — the 50-heller was dropping out of common circulation, with only 10 percent of the coins returning to the central bank. Meaning, the coin was largely collecting in ashtrays and jars throughout the country.
While the coins are cheap to produce, costing the state only a few million crowns a year, the aluminum used to make them tends to contaminate coin-counting machines, making them a chore to handle.
It will still be possible to price goods in hellers, the bank said, essentially unchanging current practices that see cash payments rounded to whole crowns. Legislation for such rounding already exists, established in an amendment to the Consumer Protection Act in 2003.
“Thus, the impact on inflation will hardly be visible, as was the case when the 10-heller and 20-heller coins ceased to be legal tender,” Řežábek said.
While the passing of the heller should be noted, the bank does not expect the public will mourn for long.
“We expect [them] to welcome the fact that their wallets will become easier to deal with after these infrequently used coins disappear,” Řežábek said.

Paul Voosen can be reached at pvoosen@praguepost.com


Other articles in Banking & Finance (8/08/2007):

Browse the Current Issue

If you enjoyed this article, why don't you subscribe to the print version!
We accept secure online transactions provided by PayPal and Moneybookers

Be the first to add a comment!


Full Name: *
City: *
E-mail: **
This comment can be published in the print version of The Prague Post
Enter the text on the right:
 visual captcha
Comment: *
* Required field. In order to be approved for display, comments must have a first and last name and a city.
** E-mails are required and will only be used for internal purposes.

Most visited in Business Listings

Hotel booking
The Prague Post Online contains a selection of articles that have been printed in
The Prague Post, a weekly newspaper published in the Czech Republic.
To subscribe to the print paper, click here.
Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.