2012-12-04
For the first time in its history the Bank of Lithuania has issued coloured coins. They are dedicated to resorts
2 litas collector coins, which are decorated with the coloured coats-of-arms of the country’s four resorts—Birštonas, Druskininkai, Neringa and Palanga—were issued by the Bank of Lithuania on 4 December.
“For these unique corners of the country—a unique series of coins. When presenting it, one can say as many as four times ‘for the first time.’ For the first time 2 litas collector circulation coins have been issued. For the first time in the history of the issue of Lithuanian metallic money, pad printing has been used and for the first time coins have been issued with coloured images. For the first time Lithuanian resorts have been perpetuated on coins”, says Vitas Vasiliauskas, the Chairman of the Board of the Bank of Lithuania.
According to him, perpetuation of the resorts emphasises their significance as attractive places of wellness, tourism and purposeful leisure. At the same this contributes to greater knowledge of the resorts, as the commemorative coins issued by the Bank of Lithuania are spread around the world.
“In making our country famous, we, the Lithuanian resort towns, will not disappoint the Bank of Lithuania, which has shown good initiative to depict on Lithuanian coins the coats-of-arms of the country’s first historical resorts,” said the Mayor of the Municipality of Druskininkai, President of the Association of Municipalities of Lithuania, Ričardas Malinauskas, who attended in Vilnius the presentation of the new coins to the public, an event organized by the Bank of Lithuania. Also attending were representatives from Birštonas, Neringa and Palanga.
The Lithuanian Mint has struck 100,000 pieces of usual quality and 2,500 pieces of proof quality (mirror surface, matt relief) of each of the four coins with different images of this series.
The highly expressive, coloured coats-of-arms of the resorts have been printed at the Lithuanian Mint using a unique pad printing machine designed specifically for minting the coins.
“When pad printing, a two-dimensional colour image is, using special elastic, silicon pads, transferred from the printing forms, called clichés, onto the coin’s dimensional relief. For each colour of the image, every time a different printing form and pad are prepared and used,” describes the Director of the Lithuanian Mint, Saulius Vaitiekūnas.
The coins can be obtained at the cash offices of the Bank of Lithuania in Vilnius (Totorių g. 2 and Žirmūnų g. 151) and in Kaunas (Maironio g. 25).
Apart from usual circulation coins, the Bank of Lithuania had also issued up till now collector (commemorative) circulation 1 litas coins. Seven such coins have been issued, dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the Bank of Lithuania and the Litas, the 10th anniversary of the Baltic Way, the 425th anniversary of Vilnius University, the Palace of the Grand Dukes of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Vilnius—the European Capital of Culture 2009, the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Grünwald, and Basketball.
A second series of 2 litas collector circulation coins will be launched next year.