Coins of the Baltic Republics (1918-1940)

Estonia and Livonia (territories of modern Estonia) became part of the Russian Empire as a province in 1721 following the results of the Northern War with Sweden. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Duchy of Courland (territories of modern Latvia) became part of the Russian Empire in 1795 under the third division of the Commonwealth. After the October Revolution, Soviet republics were formed in these territories in 1918, which, however, did not last long. The crumbling German Empire contributed to the local bourgeoisie in their overthrow and the creation of the Baltic Republics, led by a pro-German government. In August 1940, the republics became part of the USSR following the notorious Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. In this review I will tell you about the coins issued between 1918 and 1940 by the Baltic republics: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

 

The decision to introduce its own currency was made by the Republic on November 30, 1918. The Estonian brand was originally equated with the German East Mark, which went during the occupation in the First World War. 

 

In 1922, the first coins were issued in denominations of 1, 3 and 5 marks, the minting of which was ordered at the mint in Berlin, as well as in the companies Hirschi and Werner & Sohne. The first issue coin design was by artist Boris Krummer (1884-1941).

 

In 1924, 1925, coins were reissued without a change in design, but on copper-nickel-zinc blanks (nickel-bronze alloy). At the same time, a face value of 10 marks was added to the line of their three coins in 1925. Minting of coins, starting in 1924, was carried out in Tallinn by the national mint.

 

The 1926 issue coin design was designed by artist Georg Westenberg.

 

The design of the obverse of coins of the 1926 model resembles previous issues. At the same time, a coat of arms decorated with oak leaves appeared on the reverse. Coins of this line are quite highly valued. The reason for this is the destruction of a significant part of the circulation of denominations of coins from 3 to 10  marks.

 

3 stamps - total circulation of 902,870 copies, 552,870 copies destroyed, 350,000 copies put into circulation.

5 stamps - a total circulation of 1,038,030 copies, 668,020 copies were destroyed, 370,000 copies were put into circulation, 10 copies are stored in museums and private collections.

10 stamps - a total circulation of 860,260 copies, 860,000 copies destroyed, stored in museums and private collections - 10 copies, issued by the bank in 1929 - 250 copies.

 

 

Rising inflation made monetary reform inevitable. The name of the new currency was widely discussed by the government of the Republic of Estonia. Initially, they decided to call the monetary unit "thaler," but this option did not receive support, since at the beginning of the 20th century the currencies of some African colonies and developing countries bore this name, and the Republic of Estonia wanted to see itself among the equal world economies. Prime Minister Jaan Tõnisson proposed the name "kuldar" (gold). The names "esta" and "est" had many supporters, by analogy with the Latvian "lat" and Lithuanian "lita ." As a result, the "krona" won, which at that time was used to name its monetary units from its northern neighbors: Sweden, Denmark and Norway. Trifle was traditionally called senti (cent).

 

In 1928, monetary reform was carried out. The crowns were pegged to the British pound. The exchange was carried out at the rate of 100 marks for 1 crown. 

 

In 1928, the first coin was issued in denominations of 25 cents.

 

Much controversy was caused by the presence under the state emblem of the initials of the Ministry of Labor (Theodor Kääriku). It was decided to no longer use the initials on the coins. The coin was withdrawn from circulation on October 15, 1936.

 

The designer of the coins of the next issue was the artist Gunter-Friedrich Reindorff.

 

 

 

According to the law of 1928, senior denominations of 1 and 2 kroons had to contain silver. In view of the significant upcoming costs of issuing silver coins, they decided to change this law, and by the corresponding decree of March 24, 1934, the requirement for the material of coins of senior denominations was canceled. At the same time, a 1 krona coin depicting a Viking drakkar was issued on aluminum-bronze alloy blanks.

 

 

Currently, it is not uncommon to find coins of this type with a 1990 issue date on sale, but they are neither an official restyle nor legal tender. These are souvenirs made in Finland by private order on the wave of euphoria from gaining independence after Estonia left the USSR.

 

Commemorative coins of the Republic of Estonia were issued in 1930, 1932, 1933. These were coins dedicated to the 10th song festival (1 krona 1933), the completion of the reconstruction of Toompea Castle in Tallinn (2 krona 1930) and the 300th anniversary of the opening of the University of Tartu (2 krona 1932). The design of all commemorative coins was created by the tireless Gunther Reindorff, with the exception of the image of the University building in Tartu on the coin of the same name, which was designed by Georg Westenberg.

 

 

The issue of this coin caused controversy and ridicule among Estonians. A fragment of the castle was displayed on the coin in such a way that dansker was in focus - a protrusion in the wall in medieval castles, on the back of which, inside the castle, there is a toilet.

 

 

In 1932, in honor of the 300th anniversary of the founding of the University of Tartu, another jubilee two-crown coin was issued.

 

 

The last coin of the Republic of Estonia was 1 cent of 1939, put into circulation on July 25, 1940, 4 days before Estonia became part of the USSR.

 

 

Krona was changed to Soviet rubles at the rate of 1 ruble=0.8 Estonian kroons. On March 25, 1941, the circulation of the crown was officially prohibited .

In the first years after the formation of the Republic of Latvia, several monetary units were simultaneously used in the country as means of calculation: royal rubles, kerenki, German marks, ost-marks and ost-rubles, as well as local money issued by the municipalities of Liepaja, Jelgava, Ventspils and  Riga.

 

In 1919, the Republic issued Latvian rubles, which were exchanged at the rate of 1 Latvian ruble=1 occupation post-ruble=2 German marks=1.5 royal rubles. By the law of March 18, 1920, the Latvian ruble becomes the only legal tender.

 

The first coins of the Republic of Latvia were issued by the Bank of Latvia, specially founded for this purpose, according to the law of August 3, 1922. These were centimes and latas (1 lat=100 centimes). The exchange rate for the previous currency was 50 Latvian rubles=1 Latvian lat. The monetary reform was preceded by a public discussion of the name of the national currency. Supporters of the name "lat" motivated their choice by the fact that it should be a Latvian word, and at the same time foreigners would not have to "break their tongue" at its mention (poet Karlis Skalbe). Prior to the opening of their own mint in 1937 in Riga, coins were ordered in Switzerland (Huguenin Freres, Le Locle) and Great Britain (King's Norton Metal Company Ltd.; Mint, Birmingham, Ltd; Royal Mint). 

 

The design of small coins of the first issue was developed by the artist Richard Zarins.

 

 

 

1 centime 1928, 2 and 5 centimes 1922 have stamp options with and without the designer's signature.

 

The design of coins in 1 and 2 lats was developed by sculptor Janis Robert Tilbergs.

 

 

The next coin, in denomination of 5 lats, deserves a more detailed description.

 

 

The coin depicts a girl in a national costume. As a model, the artist Richard Zarins chose Zelma Brauere, senior proofreader of the securities department of the Latvian Gostipography.

 

 

For incarnation on the coin, his drawing was slightly modified by the British engraver Percy Metcalf. On the edge of the coin is the inscription DIEVS * * * SVETI * * * LATVIJU * * * (God save Latvia). The coin became very popular among citizens, and the girl depicted on it began to be called Milda. According to one version, in honor of the Milda cigarette brand, the Laferm tobacco factories in St. Petersburg, on a pack of which a girl in a Latvian national costume was depicted. The name Milda is very popular in Latvia, among the ancient Baltic peoples the so-called goddess of love, freedom and flirting.

 

It is worth noting that Milda is depicted on modern coins of 1 and 2 euros issued by the Republic of Latvia.

 

In 1937-1939, coins of 1 and 2 centimes were reissued in an updated design, the author of which was the artist Ludolfs Liberts. Their minting was carried out by the newly opened national mint. 

 

There is a version of this coin (KM # 11.1), issued in 1937 with a diameter less than 0.5 mm. This size allowed attackers to use it instead of a 10 centime coin in pay phones. The management of the Latvian telephone service insisted on stopping the issue of coins with such parameters.

 

After Latvia joined the USSR and until March 25, 1941, lats were accepted in exchange with a rate of 1 lat=1 ruble.

 

The background of the formation of the national Lithuanian currency is similar to the stories of the creation of currencies by other Baltic republics. After the First World War, the Russian ruble, the German East Mark and the German East Ruble were in circulation in Lithuania. 

 

In 1919, Lithuania received a loan from Germany and, in agreement with the German Eastern Credit Office, from that time on, the German East Mark and the German East Pfennig, which in Lithuania were called auksinus and skatikus, respectively, became the official means of payment in the country. It is quite natural that hyperinflation in Germany affected the Lithuanian economy. In this regard, in 1922, the Lithuanian Parliament (Sejm) decided to create the Bank of Lithuania and put into circulation its own  currency.

 

Of the one and a half dozen proposed names for their own currency (auksinais, arfomis, doleriais, grašiais, kaltais, kirptukais, lietais, litais, lietumis, lyromis, markėmis, muštukais, rubliais, vyčiais), two remained after discussions: muštukais and litais. Nationalists and the government advocated the adoption of the first option, historically associated with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. However, by 32 votes to 16, the variant of the name "lit" won, with motivation as more accessible for pronunciation by foreigners. On August 9, 1922, a lit. Equal to 100 cents was officially approved as a national currency, with a reference to the American dollar 10:1. The exchange of ost-marks for armor was carried out at a floating rate and began with a ratio of 175:1. Weekly adjustments were made to this ratio, depending on the brand/dollar ratio.

 

The law on the issue of the first Lithuanian coins was adopted on June 20, 1924. He established that cents should be made of aluminum-bronze alloy, and silver casts.

 

Since Lithuania did not have its own mint at that time, in September 1924 a tender was announced for the execution of an order for the minting of cents for the Republic, in which 14 coin manufacturers from Lithuania, Great Britain, Germany, France, Belgium and other countries took part. Predictably, Birmingham's King's Norton Metal Works won.

 

The design of the first issue coins was entrusted to the Lithuanian sculptor Juozas Zikaras.

 

On the obverse of all issued coins is the coat of arms of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania from the 14th century, popularly called the "Chase," which was adopted as the national coat of arms of the Republic of Lithuania in 1918.

 

 

In April 1925, a new competition was announced. The order for the production of silver litas was received by the London firm Johnson Matthey Co . The designer is still the same - Juozas Zikaras.

 

 

In 1936, several denominations of coins came into circulation in an updated design with the replacement of material with bronze. Coins of 1936 and 1938 were minted in Kaunas .

 

 

In 1936, a silver coin was issued in denominations of 5 litas with the profile of a Lithuanian historian, public figure, patriarch of national revival - Jonas Basanavičius.

 

 

 

The inscription on the edge reads TAVO GEROVĖ TAUTOS GEROVĖ (YOUR PROSPERITY - PROSPERITY OF THE NATION)

 

In the same year, 1936, another commemorative coin was issued - in denominations of 10 litas, dedicated to the 500th anniversary of the death of the Grand Duke of Lithuania Vytautas Didysis.

 

 

Inscription on the edge : TAUTOS JĖGA VIENYBĖJE (NATION STRENGTH IN UNITY)

 

The following commemorative coin is dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of Lithuania .

 

On the reverse of the coin is the profile of the first (1919-1920) and fourth (1926-1940) President of the Republic of Lithuania Antanas Smetona. The designer of the coin was Juozars Zikars. The inscription on the edge : TAUTOS JĖGA VIENYBĖJE (POWER OF THE NATION IN UNITY).

After Lithuania became part of the USSR, until March 25, 1941, the Lithuanian lit and the Soviet ruble had parallel circulation, after which the lit was officially banned. Exchange and seized litas and cents settled in the vaults of the Bank of Lithuania. After the outbreak of World War II, it was not possible to evacuate all the silver from the storage facilities. Due to the lack of wagons, only 3 tons of silver were taken out, the rest was captured by the Germans. For the admitted criminal negligence, the manager of the National Bank of Latvia Nikolai Chistyakov was shot and on the eve of the financier Vasily Ushakov sent from Moscow.

 

After the end of World War II, the Baltic republics were returned to the Soviet Union. Their own currencies began to be issued only after the collapse of the USSR and independence in the early 90s of the last century. Currently, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania are included in the Euro zone.