From 22 March to 4 April 2020, Latvijas Banka, in cooperation with the news portal Delfi, organises the traditional public vote "Latvia's Coin of the Year 2020". In Latvian coin art, it is the most important event of the year.
Everyone is invited to cast his/her vote on which of the collector coins minted in 2020 is the most appealing in terms of the artistic solution, emotional impact, originality and thematic aspect. Anyone can vote for his/her favourite coin on the portal Delfi.lv: https://www.delfi.lv/latvijas-gada-moneta-2020/.
Four collector coins dedicated to the Latvian culture, history and universal human values were issued in 2020:
- "Modernism in Latvia. The 1060s" (video);
- "Linden leaf" (video);
- "Ventastega" (video);
- "Personal freedom" (video).
The results of the vote will be announced no later than on 14 April 2021 and published on Latvijas Banka's website bank.lv, as well as on the portals Delfi.lv and rus.Delfi.lv. The vote will conclude with a draw where the registered participants will have a chance to win one out of a pool of 12 collector coins, all issued in 2020.
The expert commission of the Latvian National Museum of Art (LNMM), chaired by Māra Lāce, Director of the LNMM, is to decide on the best coin in terms of the artistic solution.
Meanwhile, SIA Tilde and the Culture Information Systems Centre, in cooperation with Latvia's libraries, organise an online quiz "Recognise the Cultural Symbols on Latvian Coins" (https://letonika.lv/spele). Five winners will each be awarded the collector coin "Personal freedom".
On 14 April 2021, journalist Ilze Dobele will interview the artists of the coins issued in 2020 about their ideas, the process of creating the coins as well as their represented values. The interview will be broadcast via the media portal LSM.lv.
Since 1993, Latvijas Banka has issued 98 lats collector coins and 39 euro collector coins, with over 50 Latvian artists having participated in designing them.
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 Krause Publications and its magazine World Coin News. In 2015, the silver collector coin "The Baltic Way" was recognised as the Best Contemporary Event Coin at this contest, while in 2018, the collector coin "National Entrepreneur" was named the Most Artistic Coin of the Year. 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), which has been active since 12 November 1993, plays an important role in the coin issuing process. The Commission consists of the employees of Latvijas Banka, outstanding Latvian experts of art and culture as well as artists and scientists.