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Lithuania
The edge lettering on the Lithuanian 2‐Euro‐commemorative coins is :

(Freedom, Unity, Wellbeing)
Lithuanian mint mark :
Image Country Date Feature Ref. Volume  
 
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Lithuania 14 Dec. 2015 Lithuanian Language 20001
20002
20005
1,000,000  
 

 

Description : The German linguist August Schleicher (1821‐1868) recognised that Lithuanian is the most conservative, ancient living Indo‐European language, highly frequented with grammatical forms, some of which can also be found in Sanskrit or in other ancient languages ‐ known in the German‐speaking world as "Indo‐Germanic" ‐ such as ancient Greek or Latin. In 1861 he attempted to reconstruct the original language, called "Protoindoeuropean", by including Lithuanian. Book smuggling from Prussia undermined the ban on the printing of Lithuanian books with Latin letters. This ban together with the boycott of Cyrillic script was lifted in 1904. The letters of the largely phonetic Lithuanian alphabet form the background of the coin motif designed by Liudas Parulskis, the pre‐production plaster model was created by Giedrius Paulauskis. The emboldened word "AČIŪ" means "thank you" and below it to the right is the circular mint mark "LMK" of the Lithuanian mint Lietuvos monetų kalykla in Vilnius. At the bottom is the issuing country "LIETUVA" (Lithuania) and below that is the year "2015".
 
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Lithuania 17 Nov. 2015 30th anniversary of the EU‐Flag 20001
20002
20005
750,000  
 

 

Description : From 1950, the Council of Europe had been working on the design of a flag for Europe. The proposal to adopt the emblem of the Paneuropa Union, founded by Richard Coudenhove‐Kalergi in 1922, was rejected because of its supposed Christian symbolism. In 1955 it was agreed that the European flag, also adopted by the European Community on 29th of June 1985, would be the European flag with the twelve (a number of twelve is considered a sign of perfection) golden stars in a circular (symbolising unity) arrangement on a blue background. To mark the 30th anniversary of the EU flag, all 19 EU countries which use the euro as their official currency issued a commemorative €2 coin. There were five designs to choose from which could be voted for online. The result was declared on 28th of May 2015. The coin design was created by Georgios Stamatopoulos, coin designer at the Bank of Greece, whose initials "ΓΣ" can be seen in the lower right‐hand corner. It shows twelve stylised persons in a circle around a European flag with the twelve euro stars.
National characteristics : Above is the name of the issuing country "LIETUVA" (Lithuania), followed by the dates "1985‐2015". On the right hand side of the motif is the ligated acronym "LMK" as a symbol of the Lithuanian mint Lietuvos monetų kalykla in Vilnius.
 
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Lithuania 03 May 2016 Baltic Culture 20001
20002
20005
1,000,000  
 

 

Description : In 1860‐1881 in Juodkrantė on the Curonian Spit the largest archaeological amber discovery in the world was made, but was largely lost during the Second World War. The coin motif designed by Jolanta Mikulskytė and the pre‐production plaster model was created by Giedrius Paulauskis. It shows a 5000 year old Neolithic amber disk, one of the characteristic symbols of the Baltic culture. The disc is decorated with a cross of drilled imprints ‐ representing the axis of the earth. At the top is the name of the issuing country "LIETUVA" (Lithuania), flanked on the left by the circular mint mark "LMK" of the Lithuanian mint Lietuvos monetų kalykla in Vilnius and to the right the year of issue "2016".
 
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Lithuania 31 Aug. 2017 Vilnius ‐ City of Culture 20001
20002
20005
1,000,000  
 

 

Description : The commemorative coin was designed by Vladas Oržekauskas, the pre‐production plaster model was created by Giedrius Paulaukis. It is dedicated to Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, as a city of culture and art ‐ since 1994 UNESCO World Heritage Site and 2009 European Capital of Culture. In the foreground on the right is the roof of the Church of St. Francis (Šv. Pranciškaus Asyžiečio), built in the early 16th century out of brick in the Gothic style. The central motif of the coin is the town's landmark, the freestanding bell tower of the University Church of St. John, which was built in the Renaissance period. After the fire of 1737 is was redesigned in the Baroque style around 1740 by Johann Chrstoph Glaubitz, who was appointed as the master builder, and raised by two floors to 68 metres. On the right towards the rear is the Church of the Assumption of St. Catherine (Šv. Kotrynos Baznycia), rebuilt by the same master builder around 1741‐1743 in the late Baroque style. On the left, the onion domes of the Russian Orthodox Church of St. Michael and St. Konstatin, built in 1913 and called the "Romanov Church". At the top, in a semicircle, are the words "VILNIUS", "LIETUVA" (Lithuania), "2017" and the circular mint mark "LMK" of the Lithuanian mint Lietuvos monetų kalykla in Vilnius.
 
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Lithuania 31 Jan. 2018 Establishment of the states of Estonia and Latvia,
Re‐establishment of the state of Lithuania
Common Issue of the three Baltic States
20001
20002
20005
1,000,000  
 

 

Description : The Lithuanian designer Justas Petrulis' design was the winner in a public vote in all three Baltic states to design a joint issue to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the states. The designer symbolises the fate of the three countries as one plait ‐ interwoven by a equal past, present and future. The heraldic symbols of the three states, their coats of arms, and a stylised "100" to mark the 100th anniversary of the founding of the state are represented. The coat of arms of Lithuania (left) shows a knight on a rearing horse with the cross of Lorraine on the shield, the small national coat of arms of Latvia (centre) shows a rising sun, a lion and a griffin, and the coat of arms of Estonia (right) shows three leopards. On the left hand side is the name of the respective issuing country "EESTI" (Estonia), "LATVIJA" (Latvia) or "LIETUVA" (Lithuania) and on the right hand side the year of issue "2018". The coin was produced by the Lithuanian mint Lietuvos monetų kalykla in Vilnius. On the left is their circular mint mark "LMK", on the right are the initials "JP" of the coin designer.
 
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Lithuania 26 Jun. 2018 Lithuania's Independence Centenary Song Celebration 20001
20002
20005
500,000  
 

 

Description : The coin motif, designed by Eglė Ratkutė, shows stylised images of people and birds, which are typical of silhouette art, which is part of Lithuanian folk art, and symbolise folk dances and song. The Baltic Song Festival is part of the centennial celebrations of Lithuanian independence and was declared an intangible cultural heritage of humanity by UNESCO in 2008, along with the sutartinés, the polyphonic Lithuanian folk songs. At the bottom of the coin is the issuing country "LIETUVA" (Lithuania), top left the year of issue "2018" and top right the circular mint mark "LMK" of the Lithuanian mint Lietuvos monetų kalykla in Vilnius.
 
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Lithuania 10 Jul. 2019 Sutartinés, lithuanian songs 20001
20002
20005
500,000  
 

 

Description : Sutartinés, polyphonic folk songs sung mainly in Upper Lithuania ("Aukštaitija"), were declared an Intangible Cultural Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2010 (as was the polyphonic singing tradition Seto Leelo of the Estonian Setuceans in 2009). The coin shows in profile the heads of three singing women whose long hair winds clockwise as spiral lines to the edge of the pill, complemented by symbols repeated several times, such as in a stylised plant, the dome of the Lithuanian Song Festival or a Neolithic amber disc (similar to the one depicted on the 2016 commemorative coin as a symbol of Baltic culture). On the right is the knight "Vytis" from the coat of arms of Lithuania, surrounded by two oak leaves and three stylised trees, and on the left two birds flanking the issue theme "SUTARTINÉS". At the top of the coin is the name of the issuing country "LIETUVA" (Lithuania) and the initials "LP" of the coin designer Liudas Parulskis, the year of issue "2019" is on the right, and below it the circular mint mark "LMK" of the Lithuanian mint Lietuvos monetų kalykla in Vilnius.
 
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Lithuania 10 Sep. 2019 Žemaitija (Samogitia)
1st coin in the series of Lithuanian Ethnographical Regions
20001
20002
20005
500,000  
 

 

Description : The coin is dedicated to Lower Lithuania, where Schemaitisch, a dialect of Lithuanian, is spoken. It shows the great coat of arms of the Duchy of Samogitia, a bear under a crown, flanked by a knight leaning on a sword and a woman leaning on an anchor with the motto "PATRIA UNA" (one fatherland) At the top of the coin is "LIETUVA" (Lithuania), the country of issue and at the bottom "ŽEMAITIJA" (Samogitia), to the left and slightly above is the year of issue "2019". To the centre right of the coin is the circular mint mark "LMK" of the Lithuanian mint Lietuvos monetų kalykla in Vilnius. Rolandas Rimkūnas designed the coin.
 
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Lithuania 16 Sep. 2020 Aukštaitija (Northeast Lithuania)
2nd coin in the series on Lithuanian Ethnographical Regions
20002
20007
20008
500,000  
 

 

Description : The coin is dedicated to Upper Lithuania, the region was shaped by the Baltic Aukstaitic tribe and had its cultural centre in Panevėžys, where East Aukstaitic is spoken, a dialect of Lithuanian. The coin shows the coat of arms designed by the coin designer Rolandas Rimkūnas which was declared the coat of arms of Aukštaitijas in 2006 by the Council for the Protection of Ethnic Culture (established by the Lithuanian Parliament, the Seimas). It depicts a knight in armour called Vytis ("the persecutor"), who carries a sword with his right hand. The coat of arms is held by two angels praising and protecting Aukštaitija ‐ one of the most important regions of Lithuania and the cradle of its statehood ‐ below is the Latin motto "PATRIAM TUAM MUNDUM EXISTIMA" (Consider your homeland as the whole world). At the top of the coin is "LIETUVA" (Lithuania) and imeadiately below it the year of issue "2020". At the bottom of the coin is "AUKŠTAITIJA" (Upper Lithuania) and above that is the circular mint mark "LMK" of the Lithuanian mint Lietuvos monetų kalykla in Vilnius.
 
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Lithuania 04 Nov. 2020 Hill of crosses 20002
20003
20005
500,000  
 

 

Description : The history of the hill is deeply rooted in pre‐Christian times. Until the 14th century the castle of Jurgaičiai stood here. The Lithuanians, at that time the last pagan people of Europe, defended themselves against the bloody Eastern Crusades of the Teutonic Order and its Livonian sword brothers ‐ in the end in vain. The castle is said to have been destroyed in 1348, but the hill survived as a mythical sanctuary. When the Lithuanians rose up against tsarist foreign rule in the 19th century and the uprisings were bloodily crushed, inhabitants of surrounding villages erected memorial crosses on the hill for their dead relatives. The crosses were removed several times after the Soviet occupation of Lithuania in 1940, most recently in 1975, but Mikhail Gorbachev had the hill added to the list of Lithuanian national monuments during the Perestroika period. In 2008, the Lithuanian cross carving (Lithuanian: Kryždirbystė) was declared an intangible world cultural heritage site by UNESCO. The coin designed by Rytas Jonas Belevičius shows a variety of different crosses, covered columns (Lithuanian: Stogastulpis) and on the left a sculpture of Casimir, the patron saint of Lithuania. On the lower right, the knight Vytis ("the pursuer") is depicted in accordance with the coat of arms of Lithuania. The steps of the stairs are overlaid by a crescent moon cross. The crescent moon, an ancient pagan symbol, was associated with the female cycle of the month. In the Christian context, the whiteness of the moon represents innocence and symbolises in particular the Virgin Mary ‐ in Vilnius, the icon of Mary, which is considered an image of grace, has been adorned in the Gate of Dawn since 1849 with a silver crescent moon, a votive gift. At the top of the coin is the year of issue "2020" and "LIETUVA" (Lithuania) and at the bottom of the coin in two lines are the words "KRYŽIŲ KALNAS" (Hill of Crosses); to the right is the circular mint mark "LMK" of the Lithuanian mint Lietuvos monetų kalykla in Vilnius.
 
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Lithuania 19 May 2021 Žuvintas biosphere reserve 20002
20007
20008
500,000  
 

 

Description : The Žuvintas Biosphere Reserve is located in southern Lithuania, south‐east of the town of Marijampolė, in Šešupė the catchment basin area of the Dovinė River. The reserve includes the Žuvintas marsh, the Žuvintas and Amalva wetlands, the Bukta forest and Lake Žaltytis and has more than 4,200 species of animals, plants and fungi. With an area of 5,442 hectares, it is not only the largest nature reserve in the country, but also the oldest ‐ the reserve was established in 1937. In 2002 it became Lithuania's first biosphere reserve and in 2011 it was included in the network of UNESCO biosphere reserves. In addition to about 2,000 insect, 5 reptile, 10 amphibian, 45 mammal and 22 fish species, it provides habitat for more than 240 bird species. The shallow lakes of Žuvintas and Amalva, overgrown with reeds and rushes, are home to one of the largest populations of wood pigeons, reed buntings and plovers, and provide resting places for thousands of migrating cranes and greylag geese. The wetlands of Žuvintas are home to one of Europe's rarest songbirds, the warbler. The coin, designed by Eglė Ratkutė and Ernestas Žemaitis, shows a bittern on a grassy island lying in wait for a fire‐bellied toad swimming in the water. A mute swan, the heraldic animal of the reserve, flies above a sedge warbler clinging to a cattail leaf. In addition, four cranes are depicted in flight at the top left of the coin. At the top of the coin is "LIETUVA" (Lithuania) the country of issue,at the bottom "ŽUVINTAS" and "UNESCO" (acronym of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) below it. On the right is the year of issue "2021" and on the bottom left is the circular mint mark "LMK" of the Lithuanian mint Lietuvos monetų kalykla in Vilnius. By mistake, parts of the coins intended for coin cards were provided with prefabricated edges intended for Latvia, and thus bear the incorrect edge lettering "DIEVS ★ SVĒTĪ ★ LATVIJU ★" instead of the correct inscription "LAISVĖ ★ VIENYBĖ ★ GEROVĖ ★".
 
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Lithuania 09 Sep. 2021 Dzūkija
3rd coin in the series on Lithuanian Ethnographical Regions
20002
20003
500,000  
 

 

Description : The coin is dedicated to Dzūkija (Central Lithuania), the region in the south‐east of the country with the capital Vilnius and the cultural centre Alytus. Here, Dzūkian (South Aukshaitic) is spoken, a dialect of Lithuanian. The coin, designed by Rolandas Rimkūnas, shows the coat of arms of Dzūkija, which was designed in 2003 by Arvydas Každailis, the creator of the Lithuanian national coat of arms, which was in turn based on the seal of the medieval Grand Duke Kęstutis and included the coat of arms of the Principality of Trakai, part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which existed from 1337 to 1413. The coin is illustrated with an armoured knight holding a shield and a pollaxe, flanked by two Eurasian lynxes and below it is the Latin motto "EX GENTE BELLICOSISSIMA POPULUS LABORIOSUS" (from the most warlike tribe a hardworking people). This honours the memory of the Baltic tribe of Jatwingers who lived in the provisory territory of the Dzūkija ethnographic region. At the top of the coin is the word "LIETUVA" (Lithuania) and the year "2021" thr year of issue. At the bottom of the coin is the word "DZŪKIJA" and above it the circular mint mark "LMK" of the Lithuanian mint Lietuvos monetų kalykla in Vilnius.
 
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Lithuania 21 Apr. 2022 100 years of Basketball in Lithuania 20003
20005
750,000  
 

 



Work in progress
 
 
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Lithuania 01 Jul. 2022 35th anniversary of the Erasmus Program 20003
20005
20009
300,000  
 

 

Description : ERASMUS is a backronym for EuRopean Community Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students. The ERASMUS exchange programme is aimed at EU citizens who have been studying at a university for at least one year and supports a three to twelve‐month stay abroad at a university within the EU, or an internship. In addition, there are master's and doctoral programmes, programmes for young entrepreneurs, for school education, vocational training and adult education. Internships as well as professional development measures are financially supported and language courses abroad are also made possible for working people. The backronym refers to the Dutch philosopher and theologian Erasmus of Rotterdam (∼1466‐1536), described as "the crowning glory of the Christian humanists", depicted after a painting by Hans Holbein the Younger created in 1523. The French coin designer Joaquin Jimenez, whose initials "J.J." appear next to Erasmus' pen, has designed as a background a network of connecting lines between the twelve stars arranged in a circle and symbolising Europe, which is intended to represent the manifold intellectual and human exchanges between European students. By relieving some partial areas between the connecting lines, the numbers 3 and 5 emerge, referring to the 35th anniversary of the programme. In a block of three to four lines of lettering arranged in a quarter circle at the bottom right, the commemorative period is written as "1987-2022" (the last number also designating the year of issue) below the occasion of issue, followed by the name of the issuing state, if this does not consist of an abbreviation placed in the centre of the motif.
National characteristics : The quarter circle at the bottom right has four lines; below the commemorative period, the occasion of issue is written in two lines "ERASMUS PROGRAMA" (Erasmus programme in Lithuanian), below which is the issuing country "LIETUVA" (Lithuania). At the bottom on the left sleeve is the circular mint mark ""LMK"" of the Lithuanian mint Lietuvos monetų kalykla in Vilnius. The coin is one of those with a more textured background.
 
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Lithuania 20 Dec. 2022 Suvalkija
4th coin in the series on Lithuanian Ethnographical Regions
20003
20005
20009
500,000  
 

 

Description : Suvalkija is one of Lithuania's ethnographic regions in the south‐west of the country, part of the historical Sudovia landscape. The old Prussian tribe of the Sudovians/Jatwingers resisted the knights of the Teutonic Order for the longest time. It was not until 1283 that the Sudau prince Skomand adopted the Christian faith and gave up resistance. In the Peace of Lake Melno in 1422, the Order had to relinquish most of Sudau, which since then belonged to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and thus, from 1596, to the Polish‐Lithuanian Noble Republic. With the Third Polish Partition, this larger part of Sudau came to Russia in 1795. From 1815 onwards, the area was the north‐eastern corner of Congress Poland, which was bound to Russia in personal union and deprived of any independence after the Polish Uprising of 1830. In 1918, northern Sudovia became part of the newly constituted Lithuanian state, initially under German occupation. From 1939 to 1944, the south‐eastern part of Sudauen was annexed directly by the Greater German Reich as the 'Suwalkizipfel'. Today, the southern part of Sudau with the town of Suwalki (Lithuanian: Suvalkai) belongs to Poland, the northern part with the cultural centre of Marijampolė to Lithuania. Suvalkija has never been an independent political entity. Divided between the administrative district of Mariampolė and part of the administrative district of Alytus from 1994 to 2010, it still has no official status in the structure of Lithuania. Suvalkija is a strongly agricultural region due to comparatively good soils. The Lithuanian dialect Westaukshtaitic spoken in this area forms the basis for the modern Lithuanian language. The coin designed by Rolandas Rimkūnas shows the coat of arms of Suvalkiya with an aurochs (once the dominant animal species of this region) in the shield. This is flanked on either side by acorn‐bearing oak branches instead of shield holders, joined at the bottom by a ribbon bearing the motto "VIENYBĖ TEŽYDI" (May unity prosper). At the top is the issuing country "LIETUVA" (Lithuania) and below it the year of issue "2022", below at the bottum it the occasion of issue "SUVALKIJA". Above it is the circular mint mark "LMK" of the Lithuanian mint Lietuvos monetų kalykla in Vilnius.
 
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Lithuania 16 Mar. 2023 Together with Ukraine 20003
20005
20009
500,000  
 

 

Description : Lithuania dedicates this commemorative coin to the people of Ukraine who have been suffering and dying since Russia occupied and annexed Crimea in 2014 and launched its invasion on the 24 February 2022. Coin designer Eglė Žemaitė depicts a stylised sunflower, Ukraine's national plant, which is grown extensively in the country. Around the flower basket with its numerous small tubular flowers is written in a semicircle the issue occasion "KARTU SU UKRAINA" (together with Ukraine, in Lithuanian), surrounded by reed blossoms in the form of stylised people holding hands, embracing and protecting each other, thus embodying unity, support and the power of togetherness. The shapes of the child and adult figures look like tongues of flame around a rising sun, a sign of hope. Above them hover birds alluding to those who lost their lives in this war or sacrificed as national defenders, and their departing souls. At the top left is written "LIETUVA" (Lithuania), below it the year of issue with "2023" and on the right the circular mint mark "LMK" of the Lithuanian mint Lietuvos monetų kalykla in Vilnius.
 
References :
20001 Images taken with authorisation by the ECB ‐ Mail dated 20.Feb.2020
© "European Central Bank"
20002 Data mirrored from Wikipedia Page "2_euro_commemorative_coins"
with friendly support of the guardians of that page.
20003 Images taken with authorisation by H....... Hamburg   20004 Coloured version of this Commemorative Coin in circulation
EU‐legal‐technical specifications do not recongnise colour prints. The EU nevertheless tolerates them, as their numbers are very small and they are sold in special packs and therefor are very unlikely to be used as currency.
20005 enlarged Images taken with authorisation by Gerd Seyffert
© "Gerd Seyffert 2021"
20006 Not Applicable  
20007 Images taken by Münzen Kreuzberg
© "Münzen Kreuzberg 2021"
20008 enlarged Images taken by Münzen Kreuzberg
© "Münzen Kreuzberg 2021"
20009 Text with kind permission by Gerd Seyffert
© "Gerd Seyffert 2023"
20010 Not Applicable