Issue of the new collector coin dedicated to the anniversary of the Educational Commission of the Commonwealth of the Two Nations

The coin is available for purchase on the Bank of Lithuania’s e-shop (monetos.lb.lt) and at the Bank of Lithuania cash offices in Vilnius and Kaunas.

Today, the coin dedicated to the Educational Commission was also issued in Poland. The collector coin is a joint project with the Central Bank of Poland, as the historical date is important for both countries.  

“Coins of numismatic value end up in private collections or are gifted. But they also have an educational purpose – we choose coin themes taking into account important historical events for Lithuania, which we want to draw the public’s attention to,” says Deivis Stankevičius, Director of the Cash Department of the Bank of Lithuania and Chair of the Coin Creation Commission.

The Educational Commission of the Commonwealth of the Two Nations, established on 14 October 1773, played a significant role in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kingdom of Poland. Its establishment was testimony to the adoption of the ideas in both nations.

The Educational Commission was the first ministry of education in Europe. It was tasked with modernising and secularising the content of education, which until then had been influenced by the Jesuit Order. The Commission controlled all academies, higher education institutions, academic communities and public schools in the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

On the collector coin, artist Giedrius Paulauskis commemorated the activities of the Educational Commission using significant symbols.

The obverse of the coin features the coat of arms of the Grand Dutchy of Lithuania, the Vytis, on the background of the ensemble of buildings of Vilnius University, the reformed Supreme School of the Grand Dutchy of Lithuania (engraving from 1780s). 

The reverse of the coin bears the image of the seal of the Educational Commission of the Commonwealth of the Two Nations with the Latin inscription “Collegium Praefectorum Publicae Institutioni” (College of Directors of Public Education), with a symbolic opened book below it. One of its covers depicts a primary school textbook, reprinted in 1783 by the printing house of the reformed Vilnius University. The other cover of the book bears the quotation in Lithuanian from the Educational Commission’s first circular: “…jaunų žmonių lavinimas ir švietimas – vienintelė tvarios valstybių laimės sąlyga” (…the exercise and education of the young is the only condition for states’ constant happiness). 

The edge of the coin bears the inscription 1773 and a laurel branch.

The coins dedicated to the Educational Commission of the Commonwealth of the Two Nations were minted at the Lithuanian Mint. The diameter of the coin is 34 mm, it weighs 23.30 g, and the price is EUR 72 (inclusive of VAT). 

The collector coin dedicated to an important anniversary is the second joint project with the Central Bank of Poland. In 2021, the central banks of Lithuania and Poland issued silver coins dedicated to the 230th anniversary of the Constitution of 3 May and Mutual Pledge of the Commonwealth of the Two Nations.

Notes and coins