From 24 March to 6 April 2025, Latvijas Banka, in cooperation with the news portal Delfi, organises the traditional public vote "Latvia's Coin of the Year 2024". This vote will, for the 21st time, determine the public's favourite collector coin issued during the previous year.
Everyone is invited to vote for the collector coin minted in 2024 that they find most appealing in terms of its artistic solution and story. Latvijas Banka invites the public to vote and to register for a draw, offering the opportunity to win one of the five coins issued in 2024. The prize pool consists of 15 coins. Anyone can vote for his/her favourite coin on the portal Delfi.lv. Each person may only cast one vote per day for each coin.
In 2024, five collector coins were issued, each dedicated to Latvia's culture, history, and other significant topics:
- "Across the Times" (video); graphic design: Arvīds Priedīte, plaster model: Ligita Franckeviča;
- "Childhood Joy" (video); graphic design: Anna Vaivare, plaster model: Ligita Franckeviča;
- "Energy Coin" (video); graphic design: Germans Ermičs;
- "Building the Unbuilt" (video); graphic design: Rūta Jumīte;
- "Cabbage" (video); graphic design: Mārtiņš Rozenfelds.
The results of the vote will be announced by 21 April 2025 and published on Latvijas Banka's website bank.lv, as well as on the portal Delfi.lv. The vote will conclude with a draw where the registered participants will have a chance to win a collector coin issued in 2024.
Since 1993, Latvijas Banka has issued 98 lats collector coins and 58 euro collector coins. Overall, more than 50 artists from Latvia and one artist from Ukraine have participated in designing Latvian coins.
Latvian coins have received high international recognition and a number of prestigious awards; moreover, the "Coin of Latvia" won the international 2010 Coin of the Year Award at the contest organised by US numismatics publishing house Krause Publications and its magazine World Coin News. Latvian coins have excelled at this contest several times: in 2015, the silver collector coin "The Baltic Way" was the winner in the nomination the Best Contemporary Event; meanwhile, the collector coin "National Entrepreneur" was announced the winner in the category the Most Artistic Coin in 2018. At the competition Coin of the Year Awards (COTY) in 2020, the "Honey Coin", Latvijas Banka's collector coin, was announced the world's Most Artistic Coin and the Coin of the Year.
The Coin Design Commission of Latvijas Banka (the former Commission for the Thematic Concept of the Banknotes and Coins), operational since 12 November 1993, plays an important role in the coin issuing process. The Commission consists of employees of Latvijas Banka, outstanding experts in Latvian art and culture as well as artists and scientists.
For reference
The silver coin "Stardust" (video) dedicated to Imants Ziedonis, one of the most distinguished Latvian poets, was named Latvia's Coin of the Year 2023. The graphic design of the coin was created by artist Līga Kitchen.
Since 2004, when Latvijas Banka organised the first public vote, the following coins have been named Latvia's Coin of the Year: "Coin of Time", "Baron Münchhausen", "Coin of Digits", "Coin of Time II", "Lucky Coin", "Coin of Water", "Amber Coin", "Fog Mists the Pane", "5-lats Silver Collector Coin", "Baby Coin", "Baroque of Courland", "Fairy Tale Coin I. Five Cats", "Fairy Tale Coin II. Hedgehog's Coat", "Smith Forges in the Sky", "Honey Coin", "Cat's Mill", and "Linden Leaf".