2017-10-04 Wed

Bank of Latvia will be issuing a set of collector coins dedicated to renowned Latvian poet Eduards Veidenbaums. The set of two coins forms a stylized image of a pair of spectacles. The face value of each silver coin is 2.5 euro. The author of the graphic design of the coin set “Eduards Veidenbaums” is Arvids Pried?te, and the plaster models were created by Ligita Franckevica. The coin set has been struck by the Royal Dutch Mint.

The first coin’s obverse depicts clouds, the facsimile signature of Eduards Veidenbaums and a line of his verse “Tiem veletos es lidzi talu skriet…” (I’d love to follow them far away…). The second coin’s obverse features clouds and a line “Tur taluma, kur ziemas nepazist” (Far away where winter never comes).

The reverse of both coins features a horizontal trail of human footprints in the snow. According to the concept of artist Arvids Priedite, the set of both coins forms an image of stylized spectacles associated with Eduards Veidenbaums.

The collector coin set is dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the outstanding poet. Many readers are unaware of his talent and work, however gradually he became an important figure in Latvian poetry. His poetry, created at the end of the 19th century, has remained surprisingly topical. People know Veidenbaums’ poems by heart and quote him; composers use his lyrics for music also in the 21st century. “Awaken thee, free spirit”, “The clouds pass by like white swans”, “My thoughts are deep”, and other lines of his verse are known not only by literary historians, they are still used in everyday communication.

The collector coin set “Eduards Veidenbaums” is legal tender in the Republic of Latvia, but such coins won’t be issued in circulation as they are works of art and are in special demand among coin collectors and other coin enthusiasts. The maximum mintage of the coin set is limited to 3,000.

The price of the coin set at the Bank of Latvia is EUR 80.00. Beginning on October 5, the coin set will be on sale at the Latvian Bank Cashier’s Office as well as online via the Bank’s collector coin and other numismatic product sites.

Customers, who are interested in buying the coins, have many options to purchase them via payment cards as well as other methods. Purchased collector coins and numismatic products can be collected at Cashier’s Offices in Riga and Liep?ja as well as by using delivery services of SJSC Latvijas Pasts, within the territory of Latvia.