2004-12-16
A 50 litas silver commemorative coin dedicated to the Curonian Spit (UNESCO World Heritage) was issued 15 December 2004.
This was the 40th commemorative coin issued by the Bank of Lithuania to mark important national and global events, honour outstanding personalities, and commemorate historical and architectural monuments.
The new coin was designed by Rytas Jonas Belevicius from Vilnius.
“I am most impressed by the nature’s elements on the Curonian Spit:the wind, the water, the sand dunes? This is what I attempted to express in this miniature”, says Belevicius.
The obverse of the coin bears Vytis, the national emblem of the state.The top of the coin has the inscription LIETUVA arranged in a semi-circle; at the bottom is the inscription 50 LITŲ, the year 2004, and the mintmark of the state enterprise Lithuanian Mint.
The reverse displays a stylised image of the dunes, surrounded by the following inscriptions:KURSIŲ NERIJA (CURONIAN SPIT) at the top and UNESCO PASAULIO PAVELDAS (UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE) at the bottom.
The edge of the coin features patterns from the emblem of Neringa.
R. J. Belevicius has been recently active in designing coins.Other well-known works by the artist include the coins to the New Millennium (2000) and to the 425th Anniversary of Vilnius University (2004).
The new 50 litas coin dedicated to the Curonian Spit was made from silver (Ag 925), its diameter is 38.61 mm, weight 28.28 g.The mintage of the coin is 2000 pieces.
The coin can be obtained at the cash office of the Bank of Lithuania in Vilnius and at its branches in Kaunas and Klaipeda.The price of the coin in a display box is LTL 90, or LTL 75 without the box.
The first commemorative litas coin was issued by the Bank of Lithuania in 1993.This year collectors had an opportunity to acquire four new commemorative coins.
The Curonian Spit was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as a cultural landscape in 2000.