Latvia · 35 years of the Erasmus Programme

Issue date1 Jul 2022

Total mintage308,000

EU maximum307,000

Editions2

Edge letteringDIEVS ★ SVĒTĪ ★ LATVIJU

Inscription1987-2022 / ERASMUS / PROGRAMMA / LATVIJA

DesignerJoaquin Jimenez

mintUAB Lietuvos monetų kalykla, Vilnius (Lithuania)

Issue occasion

The commemorative coin honours the 35th anniversary of the Erasmus programme. The design combines a well-known depiction of Erasmus as an intellectual pioneer with a network of connections symbolising the intellectual and human exchange between European students. Some of the connections form stars, from which the anniversary number 35 emerges.

The design

The coin design shows a combination of two key elements of the Erasmus Programme: its original intellectual inspiration, Erasmus himself, and an allegory of his influence on Europe.

The former is symbolized by one of the best-known depictions of Erasmus.

The latter is represented by a network of connections extending from one beacon to another across the coin, symbolizing the diverse intellectual and human exchange between European students.

With regard to Europe, some of these connections form stars emerging from the synergies between the countries.

The anniversary number 35 emerges from the stars in a contemporary graphic style.

The twelve stars of the European flag are depicted on the coin’s outer ring.

Background on the topic

Desiderius Erasmus von Rotterdam was a Dutch humanist, theologian and philologist of the Renaissance. He was born in the 15th century and died in Basel in 1536. Erasmus studied and worked in various places across Europe, including Paris, England, Italy and Switzerland. Across national and linguistic borders, he was in contact with scholars, church officials and political decision-makers. One of his best-known works is the satirical The Praise of Folly. He also published a Greek-Latin edition of the New Testament and advocated education, linguistic accuracy and a renewal of Christianity.

The depiction reproduced on the coin is based on a portrait by Hans Holbein the Younger, showing Erasmus writing. As a scholar active throughout Europe, Erasmus became the namesake of an education programme, although there is no direct institutional connection between his work and present-day European higher education policy.

The Erasmus Programme was established in 1987 by the European Communities of the time. Its name can also be read as the English acronym for “European Region Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students”. The programme was intended to facilitate study stays in other European countries. This included financial grants, agreements between higher education institutions and arrangements for recognising study achievements completed abroad. Other areas of education and target groups were subsequently included. Since 2014, the corresponding measures have been brought together in the broader Erasmus+ programme, which, in addition to higher education, also covers school education, vocational education and training, adult education, youth and sport.

The coin issue thus also refers to education policy as part of European cooperation. Stays abroad are intended not only to impart specialist knowledge, but also to provide language skills, personal contacts and experience with other education systems. The joint issue by numerous countries reflects the cross-border nature of the programme. Joint issues with identical designs are minted only for selected Europe-wide occasions; the vote on the design also involved the public in its creation.