A muse at an easel whose outline echoes Gediminas Castle: this is how Lithuania’s 1 litas of 2009 marked the year Vilnius held the title of European Capital of Culture.

The Bank of Lithuania explains the reverse this way: the painting muse stands for the roots of European culture in antiquity, while the easel turns into the emblem of Vilnius, the tower on Castle Hill. Around the rim runs «VILNIUS – EUROPOS KULTŪROS SOSTINĖ 2009». The obverse carries the arms of the Republic of Lithuania with «LIETUVA» and «1 LITAS». The coin was designed by Vytautas Narutis.

The Lithuanian Mint struck 1,000,000 pieces. The edge is reeded with plain gaps. The coin circulated alongside the ordinary litas until Lithuania adopted the euro in 2015.

In a collection it links several themes at once: commemorative litai, coins for European Capitals of Culture and Vilnius on coins. Uncirculated grade means the coin never circulated: no wear, mint lustre intact, with only minor bag marks possible.

If you are just starting a collection, the VPcoins catalogue makes it easy to find coins to build it around.