NBS Logo
At the end of 1992, whilst preparing the establishment of the National Bank of Slovakia, the question of its logo appeared. The view prevailed that the logo should be an ancient symbol reflecting the historic and economic traditions of Slovakia. After discussions with historians, artists and numismatists, two proposals were submitted.
The first was a "falconer", an armed rider - hunter with a falcon on his left hand, depicted on a silver disk from the second half of the ninth century, found during archaeological excavation of an ancient Slav settlement. Apart from agriculture, wine production and well developed craft production, falconry was an important way of making a living among the Slavs of the ninth century, a period which saw the greatest advance of the first state formation on our territory. The Slovak Republic is directly connected with the cultural and historical traditions of the Principalities of Nitra and Moravia, as is also mentioned in the text of the preamble to the Constitution.
The second proposal was the "Biatec" Celtic coin, on the obverse of which a man is depicted astride a horse with a twig in his hand, and the inscription Biatec below. Numismatic and archaeological research up to now, has shown that the Celts, one of the first historically recognized nations, struck their coins in the area of present day Bratislava, amongst other places, approximately in the years 70-44 BC.
Coins struck at that time in the area of present day Bratislava are unique in the Celtic world of that time. They were made from high quality metal - silver and gold. Such coins bear inscriptions in capital letters, in Latin: BIATEC, NONNOS, DEVIL, BUSU, BUSSUMARUS, TITTO - a total of 14 different inscriptions, of which the inscription BIATEC appears most frequently 
(therefore all these coins have come to be known by the name "Biatec", although in specialist literature they are usually referred to as "tetradrachms of the Bratislava type"). Latin letters were used for the first time on our territory. According to the latest research, these inscriptions represent the names of local rulers.
The coins have a diameter of 25 mm and a weight of 16.5 -17 g. The obverse usually shows various depictions of a head. The reverse usually shows a horseman, but various mythological motifs also occur, for example a harpy (a bird with a womans head), a centaur (a horse with the upper part of a man), a griffin (a winged lion with the head of an eagle), a coiled dragon, or symbols of real animals. With its wealth of motifs, the Bratislava Celtic mint might well be said to compare favourably with the Roman mints of the time.
The most important find of coins of the "Biatec" type was made during excavations for the Tatra Banka building in Bratislava in 1923, when 76 large and 324 small coins, were found scattered over 1-2 m2, in a layer containing La Tene pottery.
Finally, in creating the logo of the NBS, the main motif of the Biatec type coin was used, together with the falconer, thus combining two ancient and important periods and traditions of Slovakia: the Celtic and the Great Moravian. Anton Sulek, the designer of the logo, placed in a circle, a rider on a horse. In contrast to the prototype, he placed a falcon on the rider's right hand and a lime twig with three leaves at the feet of the horse instead of in the rider's hand. The rider on the galloping horse with a bird of prey on his hand symbolizing power and independence, stability and flexibility in action, carries with it an aura of glory and honour, and finally also courage and determination - all properties which a central bank should represent. The name of the institution, placed in the lower part, is an integral part of the graphic design.
With the National Bank of Slovakia's euro area entry on 1 January 2009, the National Bank of Slovakia has integrated the EUROSYSTEM into its logo.