At the end of the 14th c., with the expansion of trade, the inconvenient silver bars and large Prague groat coins (an international currency of that time, which came into circulation in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (GDL) as well) became insufficient for payments.
The opinions of Lithuanian numismatists on the minting of the first coins diverge. Some believe that the coins may have been minted until 1387, i.e. until the adoption of Christianity, and most likely by Grand Duke Algirdas of Lithuania (1345–1377) at the end of his rule or by his successor, his son Jogaila (Jagiełło, 1377–1392). They are convinced that the first coins to be minted were of the heaviest PEČAT type (depicting a spearhead and cross). In the opinion of others, the first coins appeared after the coronation of Jogaila in 1386. Either way, it is clear that during Jogaila’s reign coins were definitely being minted and were widespread.
Having crowned Jogaila as King of Poland in 1386, a union between Lithuania and Poland was formed. Jogaila began issuing denarius-type coins in Vilnius and a currency system was ultimately formed. Later, coins were minted by Grand Dukes Vytautas (1392–1430) and Casimir (1440–1492). The coins were systematically and intensively minted. Changing of the design of coins every two or three years is indicative of the search for a Lithuanian form and heraldry. The first Lithuanian coins were marked with the coats of arms of grand dukes of Lithuania or their figures – a knight, the Columns of Gediminas, the double cross. Dynastic coats of arms later became state ones. The image of the knight most likely was a depiction of Lithuania’s ruler, Jogaila, and eventually became the coat of arms of the entire GDL. The term Vytis originated much later. In the mid-19th century the Lithuanian term “Vytis” was first used by the historian Simonas Daukantas. The double cross originated in Hungary and in Lithuanian heraldry it appeared after Jogaila married Jadwiga (1372–1399), daughter of Louis the Great, King of Hungary, and heiress to the Polish throne.
The great coat-of-arms seal of Vytautas depicted the coats of arms of Volhynia (a cross), Vilnius (a knight), Trakai (an infantryman), and Smolensk (a lion) and these same symbols also appeared on the first coins. Another important source is Vytautas’ seal from 1397–1411, where for the first time the knight’s shield featured the Columns of Gediminas.
The oldest coins were minted from pieces of silver wire. The weight of the first GDL coins varied greatly — from less than 0.5 g to more than 1 g. Historical sources refer to the first Lithuanian coins as pinigeliai. They became an important feature of Lithuania’s independence.
