By Bank of Latvia ….
On Tuesday, 19 July 2016, the Bank of Latvia (Latvijas Banka) issued a 2-euro commemorative coin featuring a cow. The coin is legal tender in the Republic of Latvia and all the euro area countries. Like any other piece of circulation money, this coin will be released to special points of coin sale and other enterprises as well as will become available to the population via commercial banks.
The image of a cow, the symbol of the Latvian farming and countryside, originally designed by Gunārs Lūsis (graphic design) and Jānis Strupulis (plaster model) and featured on the 2-lats circulation coin, has been restored to live again on the 2-euro commemorative coin. The new coins are struck by UAB Lithuanian Mint (UAB Lietuvos monetų kalykla).
For long, cows have been important not only for the country’s economy but also as an integral part of the countryside routine. The Latvian Brown, which is the main breed of dairy cow in Latvia, is a productive and resilient animal of relatively low maintenance and long life span, well-adapted to the local climate. The human eye is pleased to spot one when lazily browsing a field or rural scenery. The poet Imants Ziedonis, who played an important role in formulating the philosophical approach to the designs on the renewed lats banknotes and coins, has poetically represented the interrelation between the human and cow’s life cycle:
And while a wee brown calf
trundles through a brown cow,
you too have time
to till the future now.
The coin are available for exchange at the Cashier’s Offices of the Latvian Bank in Riga and Liepāja as of Tuesday, 19 July. The issuing volume of the 2-euro commemorative coin “The Cow” is one million. The experience of the Bank of Latvia shows that this volume is sufficient to meet the demand of all interested parties at least for several weeks (e.g. the 2-euro commemorative coin with the image of the stork is still available at Bank Cashier’s Offices).
10,000 Brilliant Uncirculated quality coins in special souvenir packing will also be on sale (€7.30 each at the Bank’s Cashier’s Offices). Likewise, special sets of the eight Latvian euro circulation coins and the commemorative coin “The Cow” in Brilliant Uncirculated quality will also be available (5,000 sets, €25.00 each).
Numismatic products and commemorative coins in rolls (25 coins per roll) can also be reserved as of 18 July 2016, via the collector coin and other numismatic product online reservation service of the Latvian Bank under the Banknotes and Coins Section on the main website. The first and foremost advantage of the innovative service is the opportunity for clients to buy new collector coins and different numismatic products offered online at the most convenient time for them and without waiting in lines. It is most likely to suit the needs of customers who are busy on the initial days of a new coin launch or due to other reasons cannot visit the Cashier’s Offices.
Reservations can be placed for 1,000 Brilliant Uncirculated quality coins in special souvenir packing, 500 special sets of euro circulation coins, and 2,000 rolls of coins (or 50,000 coins) with the image of the cow.
The abovementioned products will be available also at such traditional points of sale as coin shops, book stores and souvenir and jewellery shops. Collector coins and other numismatic products issued by the Bank of Latvia are for sale also online from the JSC “Latvijas Pasts”.
Bank of Latvia is carrying on the tradition of minting circulation coins of special design in Latvia. Each country in the euro area is entitled to issue two 2-euro commemorative coins of special design per year. Also, a third coin can be issued under a program, if any, jointly organised by several euro area countries. This year, the Latvian Bank is planning to issue the 2-euro commemorative coin “Vidzeme“, thereby launching a commemorative coin series celebrating the centenary of the State of Latvia.
