Pre-sale of the collector coin dedicated to the role of the Lithuanian Catholic Church in unarmed resistance

Today, on 13 September at 8:00, the Bank of Lithuania launched the pre-sale of the €5 silver collector coin dedicated to the role of the Lithuanian Catholic Church in unarmed resistance.

In the view of its creators, the theme of the coin acquires an even greater meaning in today’s context.

“In the gloomy Soviet era, when the tanks of the Soviet Bloc countries were crushing Czech and Slovak illusions of creating “communism with a human face” and burying their hopes of liberation from the suffocating grip of the Soviet empire, several dozen Lithuanian priests launched a seemingly doomed-to-fail peaceful protest for an individual’s right to freely profess their religion or beliefs and to live according to them,” writes Prof Dr Arūnas Streikus in the brochure accompanying the coin.

The coin is available for purchase on the Bank of Lithuania e-shop (https://monetos.lb.lt/en/), and, as of 20 September, the day of issue into circulation, at the Bank of Lithuania cash offices in Vilnius and Kaunas.

The collector coin was designed by Rūta Ona Čigriejūtė.

The reverse of the coin features the carrier of truth, writing words inspired by the Holy Spirit from the Middle Ages to the present day and carrying an important message that must be communicated to the world. This man is an evangelist depicted in the style of a medieval miniature, but instead of writing by hand, he types. The dove chirping in his ear symbolises the Holy Spirit, the stole represents the calling of the writer, his bare feet highlight his poverty, and his typewriter bears witness to the era in which he is writing. The composition incorporates the inscription “Pass on after reading”.

The obverse of the coin features a cross formed by microfilms – the same medium through which issues of the Chronicle of the Catholic Church in Lithuania spread around the world. According to the traditional composition of the coat of arms, areas divided by the cross feature the Vytis, the symbol of the coat of arms of the Lithuanian state which was being fought for, the church of Simnas, the place of origin of the Chronicle of the Catholic Church in Lithuania, and the moment of handing over the publication. The top of the composition features a dove carrying the microfilm cross. This represents the Holy Spirit, inspiring courage, and references the spread of the Chronicle of the Catholic Church in Lithuania.

The mintage of the coin dedicated to the role of the Lithuanian Catholic Church in unarmed resistance is 2,750 pcs. The coins were minted at the Lithuanian Mint. The price of the coin is EUR 62.00 (inclusive of VAT).

Internet source