Dissolution of Czechoslovakia
On 1 January 2009 Slovakia adopted the Euro as its currency with the exchange rate of 30.126 SK/€, and the €2 commemorative coin for 2009, Slovakia's first, featured the 20th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution in remembrance of the common struggle of the Czechoslovak people for democracy. By a quirk of fate, the welcoming speech on the behalf of the European Union on the occasion of Slovakia's entry to the Eurozone was delivered by Mirek Topolánek, the prime minister of the then-EU presiding country, the Czech Republic, naturally in his native language while other guest speakers used English. The Czech Republic continues to use the Czech koruna, or crown.
Coins of the Slovak koruna (1939–45)
The coins of the World War II Slovak koruna (slovak: "koruna slovenská") were the first coins ever minted by a Slovak state. These coins were minted in the Kremnica mint, once the common state mint of the whole Czechoslovak state. Coins carried not only monetary but also propaganda function: they showed the symbols of the Slovak nation and the just born independent Slovak state. Lower denominations were made of base metals, while those above 5 Ks contained silver.