Latvian Euro Coins Feature Classic Design

The production of Latvian Euro Coins recently commenced at the mint in Stuttgart, Germany in preparation for the changeover from the Lats to the Euro. The 1- and 2- Euro coins feature a design which many readers will recognize.

latvian-euro

This is the design which appeared on the original 5-lats silver coins issued in 1929. The “folk girl” or “folk maid” design became a symbol of Latvia’s freedom and sovereignty with examples secretly stored by many Latvian families during the Soviet era.

gold-coin

In recent times, the design has been used for two commemorative coin releases. The first appearance was on a 1/25 oz. gold coin issued in 2003.

silver-coin

Last year, the design was used for a 5-lats silver collector coin issued to mark the 90th anniversary of the central bank and the national currency unit. This also represented the 90th collector coin issued during Latvia’s renewed independence. The issue was met with a very favorable collector response.

The new Latvian cent coins, including 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, and 50 cent denominations, will feature large and small versions of the Latvian coat of arms. The large version is the same as the one which appears on the silver coin above.

In November and December 2013, the Bank of Latvia will start delivery of euro banknotes and coins to commercial banks. On December 10, distribution to business and shops will begin, with a start-up set of coins available to the public. The Latvian euro coins will become legal tender on January 1, 2014.

The Bank of Latvia provided a YouTube video of the production of the new coins, which is embedded below. There is also a Flickr photo gallery, which can be found here.

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Comments

  1. Koichi Ito says

    If Latvia change to euro next year. So do you think that coins in lats will increase in value?

  2. says

    Koichi,

    You might want to look at other coins in countries like Germany where they flipped over to the Euro and see if there was a general increase in demand for them. Speaking in a general sense, I did hear that when the changeover happened, some people in nearly every EU country hoarded bills and coins from their old national currency (such as the German mark or the Spanish peseta). So I would not be surprised to see an initial “pop” in the prices of coins in the old lat currency. However, whether such elevated prices will last longer than a year or two I don’t know.

    As for where you can buy, I’ve had fairly good luck finding non-US coins at the Royal Scandinavian Mint, http://rsmint.com/. They import a lot of good modern coins from Europe for sale in the US, and I think they will probably have any Latvian proof sets.

    As to the topic of the article, I really like the new design and will certainly buy a proof or other mint set of these if the Bank of Latvia issues them along with the common circulating coins. The Latvian folk girl is a good design overall, though I think the silver commemorative piece they issued is better looking than the new circulating coin. But, this may be an instance where the picture doesn’t do the piece justice.

  3. Louis says

    The coins won’t be officially released until the beginning of next year when Latvia starts using the euro. The sets should be available early next year. Proof versions of the 2 euro coins look much better than the BU ones, which are made for circulation.

  4. Wes says

    Off Topic I received my Royal Birth St George Silver Crown coin today. Everything is perfect. Also as was originally shown on my order I wasn’t charged shipping due to the coupon code that has now seemed to expired for new orders.
    I really like this coin and think it was worth every penny. Noticed how it says 7500 in this presentation. I asked the mint where the other 2500 coins not in this presentation went. They replied that they were sold to a customer in the United States. They didn’t tell me who the customer was but I would think some coin dealer.

  5. fmtransmitter says

    Glad you like your coin Wes. I missed my chance because of botched US Mint shipping issues with WP sets. I THINK we are all on a budget here, maybe not.

  6. Rolling-Thunder says

    Wes – glad you received your Royal Birth St. George silver coin & thanks for additional info.

    What day did you order – I ordered July 26 & still have not even had my credit card charged! Getting a little anxious!!!!

  7. Wes says

    FM yes on a budget I can’t buy every coin I would like too.

    Rolling Thunder, order was placed on July 22nd but somehow processing was delayed. It was a process after I ordered it. I ordered some other items when they went to process those items my bank declined payment. I believe when that happened they put a hold on this order as well. I contacted them with a different card and asked them to change it for this order and they did. Then my order was processed last week. You should be fine with the Visa or Mastercard credit card. Website showed orders will be dispatched starting August 23rd when you placed your order.

  8. Wes says

    One thing I did notice was no individual edition number on the COA or anywhere. Just a sticker on the back of the box with a serial number and the date the order was processed for shipping.

  9. Rolling-Thunder says

    Thanks Wes,
    You’re right it did say shipping August 23rd when I placed my order – I thought that was the soonest shipping date for everyone – so was surprised when I saw posts from people who already received coins, assumed Royal Mint just started shipping earlier than originally stated on website.

    The actual photos of the coin look magnificent – much better than mint image – glad I eventually ordered before sell out.

    Don’t really like 2,500 sold to 1 US Dealer – already thought Downies had a large allocation – wonder how many were actually available to us little people!

    My 1st purchase from Royal Mint – used VISA hope it goes smoothly in the end!

    Unfortunately waiting seems to be the norm these days from most mints – US MInt, RCM, & now Royal Mint. Haven’t ordered anything from Perth since they raised free shipping minimum to $400. – but at least they were usually pretty quick with shipping. Hi ho silver – here come the Lunar Horses! Official image release 8/22 if you haven’t seen an “unauthorized” internet image yet.

  10. Wes says

    Roman Thunder 10000 in total edition. 7500 in the Royal birth presentation that we ordered. So the other 2500 I think should have a different packaging presentation. Same coins though but still limited to 10000 coins minted. Yes when I first saw the coin for sale on the website it showed they would be dispatched as early as August 2nd then it changed to mid August finally showing August 23rd. I do agree with Louis that it would have been nice in a 5 ounce or HR coin. But just like he said I probably wouldn’t have been able to afford them.

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