People on Lithuanian money. Jonas Basanavičius

Jonas Basanavičius (1851–1927) was a Lithuanian public figure, scientist, doctor, the signatory of the Act of 16 February and the patriarch of Lithuania. There have already been quite a few times when Basanavičius was depicted on Lithuanian money, so he is probably the most often featured person.

Dr. Jonas Basanavičius’ importance is felt up to this day, but he was an especially prominent figure in the interwar-period Lithuania. In a way, he became a living symbol of Lithuania’s independence. He passed away in 1927 and, just a year later, he was already featured on Lithuanian circulation banknotes. On 31 March 1928, new litas banknotes of 50 and 100 denominations were released, with their design created by the artist Adomas Galdikas. The obverse of the 50 litas banknote featured the portrait of Jonas Basanavičius, while the reverse – Vilnius Cathedral with the Gediminas Tower in the distance. This combination was quite logical because Dr. Jonas Basanavičius spent his entire life in Vilnius that was ruled by Poland at the time and remained the symbol of the city which became inaccessible during the interwar period. However, the portrayal of Jonas Basanavičius itself was quite unusual because up to that time only long-passed-away Grand Dukes of Lithuania reimagined by artists and allegorical figures used to be featured on money, whereas a real person who passed away only recently and whose face was easily recognised by any person – young or old – was featured for the first time. Without any doubt, this was done in honour of Jonas Basanavičius himself but he was also a symbol of independence, occupied Vilnius and, finally, both historic and modern Lithuania.

Basanavičius was also featured on coins. From 1925, the litas and its cents were in circulation in Lithuania but they were minted outside the country. Only after more than a decade, it was decided that it would be more cost-efficient to do that in Lithuania. In 1936, the Spindulys Mint was established in Kaunas and, for the first time, Lithuanian coins were minted within the country. Moreover, real people (up until then, the coat of arms used to be depicted on the obverse, while on the reverse – denominations with plant motifs) were featured on silver (750 millesimal fineness) 5 and 10 litas coins for the first time as well. On the obverse of both denominations there was the Vytis – the coats of arms of the Republic of Lithuania – with the date of issue and inscription LIETUVA, whereas their reverses featured spelled-out denominations and the profile portrait of Vytautas the Great on the 10 litas coin and of Dr. Jonas Basanavičius on the 5 litas coin.

Meaningful texts were inscribed on the edges of these coins: “The strength of the nation lies in unity” (on the 10 litas coin with Vytautas the Great) and “Your welfare is the nation’s welfare” (on the 5 litas coin with Jonas Basanavičius). Interestingly, an inscription J.Z. is clearly seen under Basanavičius’ portrait. These are the initials of the artist Juozas Zikaras who designed the coins – the only initials of an artist to be minted on the interwar-period Lithuania’s coins. When making a model of the coin with Basanavičius’ portrait bust, the sculptor made a couple of composition options (see pictures 6 and 7). It exhibits Zikaras’ honesty and responsibility as well as his intention of creating an expressive and plastic image.

Dr. Jonas Basanavičius can be seen on yet another interwar banknote or, to be more exact, its project, because it was actually never released into circulation. On the 20th anniversary of Lithuania’s independence (in 1938), it was decided to issue a commemorative 10 litas banknote. Its project was created by Adomas Galdikas. The banknote’s obverse featured a portrait of Antanas Smetona and a facsimile of the Act of Independence, whereas on its reverse there was a picture of the signatories of the Act of Independence: amongst 20 men, right in the middle, there was also Dr. Jonas Basanavičius. The commemorative banknotes were supposed to be released into circulation on 16 February 1938, however, due to unknown reasons, that never happened, even though the London-based company Bradbury, Wilkinson & Co. Ltd had already printed out trial examples and sent them to the Bank of Lithuania. This was independent Lithuania’s last attempt to release a new issue of the litas. In the summer of 1940, the country was occupied by the Soviet Union.

When the independence was restored, the national currency returned. In 1993, litas banknotes and cents were released into circulation. After long discussions, it was decided to feature the personalities of the 19th century National Revival and the distinguished figures of the early 20th century. Dr. Jonas Basanavičius was also amongst them. In this case, it was decided to continue the interwar-period tradition, thus Basanavičius was once again featured on the 50 litas banknote with Vilnius Cathedral on the reverse. Interestingly, there were four issues of this banknote and three versions were quite different from one another. Banknotes that entered into circulation in 1993 were designed much earlier and printed in 1991. The 50 litas banknote was designed by Rimvydas Bartkus. What was different in this version of the banknote when compared to those of the interwar period, was that the portrait of Dr. Jonas Basanavičius was now placed on the right-hand side instead of the left one. The banknote is yellowish in colour, gradually getting darker from the left side to the right, with a sun carving in the middle. On its reverse, there is an image of the Cathedral and the Old Town. However, the image does not have the right proportions, the Old Town is missing important details and the whole picture is very inaccurate.

The banknotes issued in 1991 did not satisfy the requirements of money production and were soon taken out of circulation. In 1993, a new issue was released. The design of the 50 litas banknote was improved by the artist Giedrius Jonaitis. The banknote’s colour was changed, new components and details were added, the sun was not that clearly visible anymore and this is how the banknote became what Lithuanians were used to see later on.

However, the design was drastically changed once again in 1998. The obverse was mainly left unchanged but the reverse, as already mentioned, received a lot of criticism for not reflecting the reality. Therefore, Jonaitis found a way to correct this by featuring the Cathedral from the other side and now the Gediminas Tower, the monument of Gediminas at the Cathedral Square and the Hill of Three Crosses became visible in the distance. This banknote was the first one to include a watermark with Basanavičius’ portrait (previously, all watermarks depicted the Vytis) as well as other, more modern security features. Basanavičius’ portrait was also more accurate now. In 2003, yet another issue of the 50 litas banknote was released but this version was not much different from that of 1998.

The Bank of Lithuania also issued a collector coin dedicated specifically to Dr. Jonas Basanavičius: in 2001, a 50 litas silver (925 millesimal fineness) collector coin dedicated to the 150th birth anniversary of Jonas Basanavičius was released. It was designed by Rūta Ničajienė and Rytas Jonas Belevičius. Its obverse depicts the coat of arms of the Republic of Lithuania, beneath it – fragments of the late 19th–early 20th century prints and documents of that were closely related to Basanavičius’ activities, whereas on its reverse – the portrait of Jonas Basanavičius with a facsimile of his signature on the left and the inscription 1851–1927. The inscription on the edge of the coin reads: SO THAT THE SPIRIT OF LITHUANIA BRIGHTENS WITH THE COMING DAWN.