On Tuesday, 17 June, Latvijas Banka is issuing a silver collector coin "Sun and Wind". From the small Līva fishing village, Liepāja has grown into the third largest city in Latvia and is celebrating its 400th anniversary this year. To mark the occasion, artist Krišs Salmanis has created a coin that combines the city's contrasts, symbolically reflecting them in the images of the Sun and the Wind. In their balance, the soul of the city is formed.
On the coin release day, 17 June, everyone is invited to visit the Liepāja Museum, where the city administration and representatives of Latvijas Banka will present the new coin. The artist will talk about the creation of the coin, and it will be on display on a special stand. The event will take place at Kūrmājas prospekts 16/18, Liepāja, at 17.00.
In the coin dedicated to Liepāja, the artist has depicted elements of the largest city in Kurzeme. Buildings line up on the obverse: from the cramped cabin of a fishing boat to the wide rooftops of the 17th century, through elegant Art Nouveau streets, past striking modern buildings and proud industrial relics. Finally, the gaze ascends the church towers' spires, reaching Liepāja's vast sky where the Wind sets the tone. Like an eternal street musician, it plays the weather vanes and whispers through people's souls.
On the reverse of the coin, soaking it all in, is the Sun – the main listener of the Wind's ballads. It only takes a short walk to go from the city's heart to the spacious beach. There, the centuries melt together like sand in your sandals and strands of hair drift over the water's surface, weaving with the glow of the afternoon sun.
The artist addresses several issues in the coin. So where does Liepāja's strength lie? In its paradoxes? Or in the layers of its history? Can one side of a coin exist without the other? Here, opposites do not clash – they live in harmony. And in the tension between them, Liepāja carves out its own, unmistakable character.
Ligita Franckeviča is the author of the coin's plaster model.
The silver collector coin will be available for purchase on the website e-monetas.lv/en from 12:00 (noon) on 17 June. The price of the coin is 82.00 euro; the purchase limit for one buyer will be 3 coins. The mintage of the coin is 3000. The coin was struck by Koninklijke Nederlandse Munt (the Netherlands).