Published: 28.04.2015

Following a public opinion poll in which over 17 000 voters participated Latvijas Banka has announced the winner of the Coin of the Year 2014 Award, and it is the 5 euro collector coin Baroque of Courland (video),for which more than 4500 votes were cast. The author of the coin's graphic design is Laimonis Šēnbergs, and the plaster model was made by Ligita Franckeviča.

The artists received the traditional prize – the Coin of Latvia, a gold coin with the design once conceived by Teodors Zaļkalns and struck in gold in 2008, from the hands of Ilmārs Rimšēvičs, Governor of Latvijas Banka.

During the award ceremony, three other special awards were presented. The prize of the State Agency "Culture Information Systems Centre" (Kultūras informācijas sistēmu centrs) and company "Tilde" went to the artists who designed the coin White Book; "Valters & Rapa" Publishers awarded their prize to the coin Old Stenders, whereas the Latvian coin collectors' prize went to the artists of the coin Ainaži Nautical School.

The public survey on Latvia's Coin of the Year Award is the central annual event dedicated to coin art in Latvia, enabling the artists to demonstrate their contributions to this specific genre of art and Latvijas Banka to elicit the public opinion on both its attainments in issuing collector coins and the attractiveness and artistic presentation of featured themes. In 2014, 6 collector coins – Ainaži Nautical School(video), White Book (video), Baltic Way (video), Old Stenders (video), Coin of the Seasons (video) and Baroque of Courland (video) were minted.

Baroque of Courland, silver collector coin with gilded elements, is a reminder on behalf of Latvijas Banka of one of the most important projects to preserve the Lestene Church and to restore the woodcarvings by Nicolaus Soffrens, brilliant ancient objects of Latvian cultural heritage. The coin has been struck at Mennica Polska S.A. (Poland). The obverse of the coin features an acanthus leaf design from the altar of the Lestene Church, but the image of the angel from the same altar is the central motif on the reverse.

At the conclusion of the event, Latvijas Banka ran a lottery for the participants in the survey, with 30 collector coins issued in 2014 as prizes. The list of lottery winners will be published in the Internet at www.bank.lv.

Since 2004 when Latvijas Banka launched such surveys, the following coins have won the Coin of the Year awards: Coin of Time, Baron Munchausen, Coin of Digits, Coin of Time II, Happy Coin, Coin of Water, Amber Coin, Fog Mists the Pane and Silver 5-Lats Coin. The Coin of the Year 2013 Award went to the Baby Coin (graphic design by Anita Paegle, plaster model by Jānis Strupulis).

Since 1995, Latvijas Banka has issued 98 lats collector and commemorative coins and 6 euro collector coins, with over 40 Latvian artists having participated in designing them.

The Latvian collector coins have earned high international respect and numerous prestigious awards; in 2010, the Coin of Latvia even won the International Coin of the Year Award. Recently, the collector coin marking the 200th birth anniversary of composer Richard Wagner, issued by Latvijas Banka in 2013, was bestowed the World's Best Silver Coin honours.