Lithuanian coins of the 1920s

[<k>]

In the 20th century, the further back you go, the more common it is to find sprigs of oak leaves, ears of wheat, flowers and other vegetation used as ornamentation on a coin, so much so that it becomes almost a cliché. This Lithuanian circulation set, however, takes the usual suspects and depicts them with such artistic verve that it becomes a very stylish set.

The flowers on the reverse of this 5 litai coin are tulips.

[<k>]

Working backwards now, here are the other designs in the set. The 10 centu design is similar to the 20 centu, and the 1 centas design is similar to the 5 centai.

The 2 litu design shows a wreath of rue; 1 litas: oak leaves; 20 and 50 centu: rye; 5 centai: flax.

[chrisild]

Not sure what those flowers/plants are, but fortunately we have a voice of authority. The central bank published a book about the history of Lithuanian money, and here is some info about the coins: http://www.lb.lt/6 (go to p. 8-15 of that PDF file). The other chapters can be found here by the way: http://www.lb.lt/lithuanian_coins

Christian

[<k>]

Excellent find, Christian - thank you! So I was right about the tulips.   

Full marks to Juozas Zikaras for designing and sculpting those beautiful coins.

[Figleaf]

Have a look at the sign below the horse and see this thread. Ain't it something?

Peter

[chrisild]

Those Gediminian Columns (misspelled in the article clip attached to reply #2) also appear on the edges of some Lithuanian coins ...

Christian

[<k>]

You can see the Gediminian columns above the date, on the obverse of the Lithuanian 2 litu coin.

[ChrisHagen]

Have a look at the sign below the horse and see this thread. Ain't it something?

Peter

Amazing that this design element has survived for 600 years. It will be good for archaeologists in the future, to help them place coins into the correct cultures.