Latvia: Several Silver Collector Coins in 2016

[chrisild]

Finding that page was relatively easy.   You posted the image, the central bank has some information about the coin, notably the "Nacionālais Uzņēmējs" motto/inscription. I searched for that (as a term, i.e. with the inverted commas) and the site in my previous post was the first result ...

The QR code on the Dutch Mint Building coin is "http://www.q5g.nl". But yes, that takes you to the mint's website. Tried using images of the Latvian coin with a QR code reader, but the ones I have come across so far are too blurry or have light/shades issues that the actual coin would not have.

Christian

[Bimat]

Bank of Latvia now has more information about the 'Entrepreneurship' coin here (with video):

https://monetas.bank.lv/en/coins/national-entrepreneur

Issue price is €67.00 (To be issued tomorrow).

Aditya

[Bimat]

A good friend from Latvia just informed me that only 749 "Entrepreneurship" coins were actually sold by Bank of Latvia. Remaining coins were given (gift? sold?) to Latvian Entrepreneurs.

Now that explains the price tag...

Aditya

[Bimat]

Minted! Central bank confirms selling limited edition coin to own employees

Today, 13:51

Around 400 special collector coins lauding entrepreneurship have been sold to the Latvian central bank's (Bank of Latvia) own employees, putting the number sold to the general public at about a mere 900 of the 3,000 coin release, reported LSM's Russian-language service Friday, citing an anonymous source.

UPDATE: Later Friday the bank said in a statement on its official website that 403 of the coins indeed were sold to Bank of Latvia employees, without however reason why they weren't instead made available to the public at large.

"In accordance with the September 2, 2016 agreement with the LTRK [Chamber of Commerce and Industry], half of the release or 1,500 coins were sold to LTRK. A total of 1369 'National entrepreneur' coins were to be sold at Bank of Latvia registers. Of these, 403 were sold to Bank of Latvia employees for the retail price and limited to one coin [per individual], while 96 were sold through reservations on the website. 14 are for museums as well as artists and art experts involved in making the coin. The Bank of Latvia retained 117 coins," the bank stated.

Previously it emerged that businessman Raimonds Garkāns had bought 1,000 of the coins under an agreement with Bank of Latvia President Ilmārs Rimšēvičs, while the Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry fetched another 500. Latvia's central bank initially denied any knowledge about the deal.

"It's a good bonus if you can buy a coin for €67 knowing its price will increase greatly," said a source who is well-versed in Latvian numismatics and gave the initial tip-off about the coins being sold to Garkāns in bulk.

According to rus.lsm.lv estimates, about 400 coins of the recent release indeed cannot be accounted for as about 900 were sold to the general public, 1,500 were sold to Garkāns and the Latvian Chamber of Commerce, and about 200 are kept in reserve stock by the bank.

The bank said that each employee was allowed to buy a single coin but declined to say how many were sold this way. The bank's spokesman Jānis Silakalns said that the bank doesn't comment rumors and unofficial information.

Nor did Silakalns provide any information if selling to central bank employees has happened with any of the many previous 'limited edition' coins.

Since 1993, the bank has issued 112 different collector coins, details of which are available HERE.

There were 540 employees at Latvia's central bank in late 2015, according to its annual statement.

LSM has sent an official letter to the bank asking for confirmation of how many coins were sold to the general public and how many were reserved for the bank's employees.

As previously reported by LSM, the unusual coin honoring entrepreneurs came with the following declaration:

"The collector coin 'National Entrepreneur' is legal tender in the Republic of Latvia (it is unlikely, however, to come into general circulation for, by nature, such collector coins are works of art and enjoy high demand from the numismatic community and other interested parties. The maximum mintage of the coin is limited to 3,000 coins."

Central bank employees presumably are included as "interested parties."

Source: LSM

[chrisild]

Ridiculous. I am glad I'm not among those "interested parties". But thanks for the info about how those coins are distributed ...

Christian

[eurocoin]

If you scan the QR-code on this coin, the text "Strādā ar drosmi, uzņēmību un atbildību!" appears. It means something like "Work with courage, initiative and responsibility!". The QR-code doesn't refer to a special website or anything, just this sentence appears in a pop-up.

[Bimat]

Here's the "Gold Brooches: The Disc Fibula" gold collector coin, to be issued tomorrow. Issue price at Bank of Latvia is €170. The coin weighs 3.10 grams.

The coin was struck by Austrian mint.

Aditya

[Bimat]

This is how Janis Rozentāls coin will look like...

80.0 mm x 38.0 mm, 62.0 grams (Ag 925), Mintage: 7000, Struck by: Dutch mint.

Aditya

[Bimat]

Update: Issue price of Janis Rozentāls coin is €130 (for 1-9 copies) and €120 (10+ copies).

Aditya

[Bimat]

The Centennial of the Christmas Battle coin was issued on December 6. Issue Price: €53.00. Mintage: 5000.

From Bank of Latvia's website:

The graphic design of collector coin "Christmas Battles" has been created by Kristaps Ģelzis, and the author of the plaster model is Ligita Franckeviča.

The coin "Christmas Battles" is struck by UAB Lietuvos monetų kalykla (Lithuania). The obverse of the coin features a group of Latvian riflemen and an image of stylised sun taken from the Latvian riflemen battalion's soldier badge, with red-painted central field, eight broken sunbeams, and a slantwise-situated sword. The reverse features a snowflake, a point of bullet impact, and the inscription "Christmas Battles".





Aditya

[chrisild]

While the piece does not actually have any reference to the anniversary (as far as I can tell), the Latvians will know why it was issued. Here is some info ...

Christian

[Bimat]

Here't the last Latvian collector coin of 2016 commemorating "The Earth". From Central Bank's website:

The collector coin "The Earth" is made of translucent perlucor with a silver outer ring. The symbolic Earth at the centre of the coin points to its place in the system of human values and its existential integrity. The jewel-like Earth is enclosed by a diaphanous veil representing the Universe where the planet Earth is floating as an island of life.

The author of the coin's graphic design making a debut in coin art is architect M. Kalniņš. The artist's original idea of a translucent coin came out as top winner at Latvijas Banka's competition of innovative euro coins in 2015. The material used is perlucor, an extremely innovative ceramic material with extraordinary mechanical, chemical and thermal resistance and excellent optical properties. It is used in laser, military and medical equipment engineering, optical applications and elsewhere.

The coin has been struck by UAB Lietuvos monetų kalykla (Lithuania). The two-sided diaphanous veil of perlucor is enclosed by an outer ring of silver. A curved image of the Earth, made of silver and featuring geophysical map of the world in colour print, is at the centre.

The collector coin "The Earth" is legal tender in the Republic of Latvia, yet its release in circulation is unlikely, for by nature collector coins are works of art enjoying high demand from the numismatic community and other interested parties. The coin's maximum mintage is limited to 5 000.

The price of this coin at Latvijas Banka Cashier's Offices is 85.00 euro. As of 22 December, it will be on sale at Latvijas Banka Cashier's Offices [...]

Aditya

[Figleaf]

Waiting with baited breath for a "unique coin for collectors to commemorate the universe", with an exquisite black surface, completely smooth, because the universe is too big to show anything on a coin. This coin will keep its value at all times, for, with the simple addition of two holes, it can be used as a button!

Peter

[Bimat]

Waiting with baited breath for a "unique coin for collectors to commemorate the universe", with an exquisite black surface, completely smooth, because the universe is too big to show anything on a coin. This coin will keep its value at all times, for, with the simple addition of two holes, it can be used as a button!

Oh Peter, please don't use harsh words about bimetallic euro collector coins. There are people who collect them.

I will somehow get this coin with the help from a Latvian friend, but that price tag bothers me a lot. Bank of Latvia surely knows how to make handsome money from sale of coins and they leave no chance of doing so. My wishlist of Latvian euro collector coins is already big enough, addition of one more coin to it makes my life even more difficult...

Aditya

[chrisild]

This coin will keep its value at all times, for, with the simple addition of two holes, it can be used as a button!

Why add two holes if you can buy a Latvian coin with two holes?
https://monetas.bank.lv/en/coins/millenium

Christian