Eesti Pank museum: The exhibition ‘Lithuanian Money from the Litas to the Euro’ opens on 13 January

Tallinn, Estonia, 13-1-2015 — /EuropaWire/ — The exhibition ‘Lithuanian Money from the Litas to the Euro’ opens on 13 January in the Eesti Pank museum. It tells the story of the history of money in Lithuania and is being presented to coincide with the adoption of the euro in Lithuania. The exhibition will run until the end of February.

The exhibition will be opened by the head of the Numismatics Department of the National Museum of Lithuania Dalia Grimalauskaite, with a speech by the Lithuanian ambassador to Estonia Neilas Tankevičius.

“Lithuania started using the single European currency the euro on 1 January this year, and we are presenting this exhibition on the history of Lithuanian money in recognition of the great step taken by our neighbour. The exhibition also has the practical function of presenting the Lithuania euro coins, which are bound to turn up soon in the wallets of people in Estonia. We would like to invite everyone to come and see the new euro coins”, said Siiri Ries, head of the Eesti Pank museum.

The Lithuanian euro coins show the Vytis, the coat of arms of the Republic of Lithuania; LIETUVA, the name of the country emitting the coins in its own language; and 2015, the year of issue. The coins also show the twelve stars of the flag of the European Union. The coins were designed by the sculptor Antanas Žukauskas. The edge of the two-euro coin bears the words LAISVĖ * VIENYBĖ * GEROVĖ *, meaning Freedom, Unity, Prosperity.

The exhibition shows the different currencies that circulated in Lithuania between 1918 and 2014 and tells the story of the development of the Lithuanian monetary system. It covers tsarist roubles, Polish credit notes, Polish zloty, transition era coupons, litas banknotes, and coins from various periods, and a selection of the most valuable collector coins from the Lithuanian central bank.

The exhibition has been prepared in cooperation with the National Museum of Lithuania and the Lithuanian embassy. The exhibition will remain open until 26 February. Entrance is free.

On Saturday 24 January at 12.00 the historian Ott Sandrak will deliver a lecture in Estonian in the museum of the central bank on the history of Lithuania and Lithuanian money.

Litas banknotes can be exchanged for euros in the shop of the Eesti Pank museum at the central rate of 1 euro = 3.45280 litas. Read more here.

Journalists are requested to notify us of their intention to attend using the contacts below.

For further information:
Eesti Pank Museum
Tel: +372 668 0760
Email: muuseum@eestipank.ee

Ingrid Mitt
Public Relations Office
Eesti Pank
Eurosystem
Tel: +372 668 0965, +372 512 6843
Email: ingrid.mitt@eestipank.ee
Press enquiries: press@eestipank.ee