Lithuania · The Lithuanian language

Issue date14 Dec 2015

Total mintage1,000,000

EU maximum1,000,000

Editions2

Edge letteringLAISVĖ ★ VIENYBĖ ★ GEROVĖ ★

InscriptionAČIŪ / LIETUVA / 2015

DesignerLiudas Parulskis, Giedrius Paulauskis

mintUAB Lietuvos monetų kalykla, Vilnius (Lithuania)

Issue occasion

The commemorative coin is dedicated to the Lithuanian language and commemorates the 100th anniversary of the lifting of the ban on printing Lithuanian-language books in Latin script. The design features the word “AČIŪ” (“THANK YOU”) in a specially created Lithuanian typeface; in the background, all the letters of the Lithuanian language are depicted as a keyword cloud. At the bottom are “LIETUVA” and the year “2015”.

The design

The coin’s design features the word “AČIŪ” (“THANK YOU”), one of the most beautiful words in the Lithuanian language. For this project, a special Lithuanian typeface was created on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the lifting of the ban on printing Lithuanian-language books in the Latin alphabet. It is based on the Latin typeface and intended to better accommodate the combinations of the most frequently used letters in the Lithuanian language. The background of the coin’s design consists of all the letters of the Lithuanian language, depicted as a word cloud. At the bottom, the issuing country “LIETUVA” and, below it, the year “2015” can be seen. At the bottom right, beneath the word “AČIŪ”, the mintmark of the Lithuanian Mint is engraved. The outer ring of the coin features the twelve stars of the European flag.

Background on the topic

The ban dates back to the policies of the Russian Empire, to which most of Lithuania belonged in the 19th century. Following the 1863 uprising against Russian rule, the authorities prohibited Lithuanian publications in the Latin script from 1864 onward. Lithuanian texts were instead to be printed in Cyrillic letters. This measure was part of a policy of Russification intended to suppress the influence of Polish culture and the Catholic Church and to bind the population more closely to the Tsarist Empire.

The ban did not affect the Lithuanian language itself, but primarily its written use in the traditional Latin alphabet. Lithuanian books, newspapers, prayer books and primers were therefore printed outside the Russian Empire, especially in East Prussia. From there, so-called *knygnešiai*, usually referred to in German as “book carriers” or “book smugglers”, secretly brought the printed works across the border. Distribution and possession could result in criminal penalties. In addition to professional smugglers, clergy, farmers, teachers and members of the Lithuanian national movement participated in this network.

Resistance to the ban helped make the language and Latin script symbols of an independent Lithuanian identity. At the same time, clandestine schools were established where children learned to read and write in Lithuanian. The press of the time supported the development of a modern standard language and the political organisation of the national movement. After the ban ended, Lithuanian publishing and newspaper production were once again able to develop publicly. 16 March, the birthday of the well-known book carrier Jurgis Bielinis, is commemorated in Lithuania as Book Carriers’ Day.

The choice of language as the subject of the coin thus refers not only to linguistic characteristics. It recalls a period in which the alphabet, education and the distribution of books were directly connected with cultural self-assertion. The hundredth anniversary mentioned refers to 2004; the type design developed for it was later adopted for the 2015 coin.