Description
The Lithuanian litas was the official currency of Lithuania from 1922 to 2015. The official currency symbol: Lt / ct. The first Lithuanian litas was introduced in 1922 after World War I, replacing the ostmark and ostruble issued by German forces. The Bank of Lithuania issued coins in denominations of 1 centas, 2 centai, 5 centai, 10, 20, 50-centų, and 1 litas, 2, 5-litai, followed by 10 litų coin in 1936.
In March 1939, Nazi Germany demanded the immediate abandonment of the Klaipėda region (also known as the Memel Territory) to Lithuania, separated from Germany after the First World War. Demand that was obeyed by the Lithuanian government, which evicted the area, the same month as the German demand. In the same way, the Reichsmark replaced the litas as the official currency of the region, and the inhabitants of Memelgebiet were given a deadline to exchange litas for Reichsmarks until May 20, 1939. A few years later, the rest of the Lithuanian territory was annexed to the Soviet Union, which led to the replacement of the litas by the Soviet ruble in 1941.
The litas was introduced again after Lithuania declared independence in 1993. Coins dated in 1991 were introduced in denominations of 1 centas, 2, 5 centai, 10, 20, 50-centų, and 1 litas, 2, 5 litai. In 1997, new coin designs of 10, 20, 50-centų were introduced, followed by new 1 litas, bimetallic 2 and 5 litai coins in 1998.
With the introduction of the euro in the states of the European Union in 2002, it was expected that the replacement of the litas would take place in 2007, a fact that did not happen due to high inflation and the country’s economic crisis, which delayed the introduction the euro until 2015.
The 2 Lithuanian litai coin front design features the National Coat of Arms (Vytis; a knight on horseback who wears armour and wields a sword and shield), the country’s name, and the issue date. The reverse of the coin presents the denomination semi surrounded (bottom) by patterns of wavy lines. This coin is part of the 1998 – 2014 series, its rim is segmented and fluted, and its color is silver and gold.
