Lithuania: 2018 Numismatic Program

[chrisild]

Next year the three Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania will celebrate the 100th anniversary of their independence. Apart from a joint €2 commem, each country will issue collector coins - and Lithuania will come up with a "four in one" piece.

The theme is the "100th Anniversary of the Restoration of Lithuania's Independence". But each part of the, errm, combo has a different focus and a different face value:

* Outer Ring: Legal System (€20 silver)
* Middle Ring: Armed Forces & Militarised Organisations (€10 silver)
* Inner Ring: Diplomacy (€5 silver)
* Center/Pill: The Signatories (€50 gold)

On each of the four pages, you can move the vertical divider to the left and right. This way you can view both sides of the designs. Mintage will be 4,000 (proof only). Don't know yet how much these will be, but the coin(s) will come out in the first quarter of 2018.

Christian

[Bimat]

So is this the first tetra-metallic coin in the world?

Aditya

[chrisild]

Don't quite think so - the central coin will be gold, and the other three parts or coins will be silver rings. I suppose the four pieces can be taken apart, but whether you would want to do that with a proof issue ...

Christian

[Bimat]

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Republic of Lit : Lithuania mints a silver coin dedicated to the centenary of its diplomatic service

02/13/2018 | 09:11am EST

On 13 February, a presentation of coins issued by the Bank of Lithuania on the occasion of the centenary of the restoration of the state of Lithuania took place at the House of Signatories in Vilnius. One coin is dedicated to Lithuania's diplomatic service.

'It is symbolic that Lithuania's diplomatic service and the state of Lithuania are both celebrating their 100th anniversary this year. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania was the first government institution of the restored state of Lithuania and the diplomatic service has operated for a hundred years uninterruptedly. During the period of occupation, we had our own representatives, legations, even premises in Washington, D.C., and London,' said the Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Albinas Zananavičius, when presenting the coin.

On 13 February, the Bank of Lithuania issued a new series of coins - the gold coin is dedicated to signatories, while three silver coins are dedicated, respectively, to the country's diplomatic service, military and paramilitary force, and the judicial system.

Source: 4-Traders

[eurocoin]

Difficult to imagine what it will be like but hereby:

Lithuania releases first digital coin for collectors.

The Central Bank of Lithuania has revealed its intention to "write history" by releasing the first ever digital coin for collectors this year to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the independence of the country.

In a statement the central bank of the baltic nation explains that the coin will be based on blockchain technology, the same technology on which Bitcoin and other crypto coins are based.

With this digital currency for collectors the country enters into a new era in the world of numismatics according to Marius Jurgilas, board member of the bank.

According to the bank it will be the perfect way to commemorate the 100th anniversary and at the same time to show the world that Lithuania is a country that is open for new ideas and that stimulates innovation.

To choose the technology and solutions for the development of the project, in May the central bank will hold a 'hackaton' in which professionals of tech companies from all over the world will gather.

The final decision about the production, denomination, price and date of issuance as well as the way it will be distributed will be made after the appointment of experts.

Jurgilas emphasizes that the Central Bank of Lithuania has actively prepared for the launch of the digital currency and hopes that the plans will be ready before the end of the year.

The coins which are made for collectors and commemorate important events as well as important people are not supposed to be released into circulation.

[Bimat]

Just read it elsewhere and was about to post it here too. You were bit quicker.

I think they will sell a photo of coin like object for €50 or so.

Aditya

[Figleaf]

The key word in the above announcement is "blockchain" it is beyond my knowledge of the subject to give you a technical explanation, but since you can drive a car without knowing the first thing about explosion engines, here's an economist's explanation.

Blockchain is a technology that creates a proof of ownership consisting of a history of ownership. That history consists of buying and selling transactions. Each of those transactions is validated by the buyer and the seller. The system will only accept a sale from the current owner. It will check every transaction in the proof of ownership against its records. If the transaction is accepted, the proof of ownership is completed with the details of the transaction. In other words, a transaction can be carried through only if a previous chain of transactions is recognised.

Blockchain is thought to be a safe way to guarantee ownership. A blockchain "coin" is (like a bitcoin) nothing physical, but only a series of data in a computer. It is immaterial. The largest problem blockchain faces is that if the system is hacked, a hacker can change the proofs of ownership. This has happened several times with bitcoin. In other words, blockchain cannot (yet?) guarantee that the ownership is registered correctly.

Blockchain shows promise for rights and assets that can be registered electronically, such as money (bitcoins again), an investment portfolio or negotiable licenses. I would argue that it is close to useless for a pseudo coin. Pseudo coins are not means of payment, but pictures in metal. Blockchain will take away the picture aspect. If there is a picture, anyone wil soon be able to own it for free. If there is no picture, all you can do is stare at your account on your computer screen. How exciting.

In this particular case, there may be one aspect that remains: the novelty. Every imitator will diminish that element, until there is no demand left for any blockchain coin (remember that the production cost are close to zero) and all are reduced in value to zero. That even destroys the "investment" aspect.

I think that the reality behind this move is that Lithuania is smitten by fintech. That makes sense because its economy is too small for anything but services in the long run and technology is what selects winners in the service sector. It is propaganda, as coins are, but remember that the risk is wholly for the buyer of this particular service.

Peter

[chrisild]

Hmm, I had a look at the central bank's press release. But I still do not quite understand how the blockchain technology would be used in this case, and what the resulting numismatic item could be.

Oh well, there is some time between and the date of issue: "we hope that (...) we will make our plans a reality before the end of the year", and the thing will be part of "the official Bank of Lithuania plan for the issue of numismatic items in 2018" ...

Christian

[eurocoin]

We have not heard anything about the crypto coin project anymore.