2012-09-14
First gold coin from Science in Lithuania series is praising heart surgery achievements
The reverse of the first 10 litas gold collector coin from the Science in Lithuania series issued into circulation today by the Bank of Lithuania features hands of a surgeon and a stylised heart. The same day, the coin was presented in public during an event organised at the Bank of Lithuania’s Money Museum and attended by a number of scientists.
“The Science in Lithuania series started with the coin dedicated to heart surgery because of our scientists’ achievements in this field on a global level, which made it possible to save lives, the most precious thing in this world, of many people by giving back hope to them,” Audrius Misevičius, a member of the Bank of Lithuania’s Board and the chairman of the Currency Commission.
In his words, the bank consulted the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences over the coin series and took into account its views. The presentation was attended by Valdemaras Razumas, president of Lithuania’s Science Academy.
Rytas Jonas Belevičius, the designer of the coin, used for its reverse some motives taken from Stanislovas Kuzma’s medal “Cardio and Vascular Laboratory and Clinic of Vilnius University, 1962-1982”.
Prof. Giedrius Uždavinys, a well-known Lithuanian heart surgeon gave a short overview of a rich heart surgery history in the country in the coin leaflet. “Today Lithuanian cardiologists and cardio surgeons in Vilnius, Kaunas and Klaipėda work together to introduce global innovations and further improve heart surgery, a vital medical field. Implementation of new treatment methods and collective effort to analyse reasons behind each failure provide grounds for deeper understanding of heart diseases and more effective treatment results, and make Lithuania’s contribution to the domestic and world medical science even more significant,” Uždavinys wrote in the coin leaflet.
The coins were minted at UAB Lietuvos monetų kalykla (Lithuanian Mint). The mintage is 5,000 pieces.
The new collector coins can be purchased at the cash office of the Bank of Lithuania in Vilnius (Totorių str. 2 and Žirtmūnų str. 151), Kaunas (Maironio str. 25), and Klaipėda (Naujoji Uosto str. 16). The price of the gold coin in a display box is LTL 225.
Collector coins commemorate landmark events in the history of our state and the world, prominent people and architectural monuments.