100 Years: Litas, Lats, Kroon. Exhibition Catalogue
The publication 100 Years: Litas, Lats, Kroon is the catalogue for the international exhibition “100 Years: Litas, Lats, Kroon” held in the National Museum of Lithuania, Vilnius, in 28/09/2022 – 05/05/2023; in the National History Museum of Latvia, Riga, in 03/03/2023 – 28/05/2023; and in the Estonian History Museum, Tallinn, in 15/06/2023 – 10/12/2023 (Vilnius, 2023, 128 pages; ISBN 978-609-4780-738).
Publication authors: the exhibition curators Dalia Grimalauskaitė (National Museum of Lithuania), Anda Ozoliņa, Mārtiņš Vāveris, Dr Kristīne Ducmane (National History Museum of Latvia), Dr Ivar Leimus (Estonian History Museum). Publication designer: Vida Ona Kuraitė (Lithuania).
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In 2022, the national currency of Lithuania – the litas – marked its 100th anniversary. To commemorate this special occasion, the exhibition was arranged in close cooperation with the Latvian museum workers – who also celebrated the centenary of the lats – and the Estonian History Museum as well as the Eesti Pank museum workers getting to ready for the equally significant jubilee of the kroon. The introduction of the national currencies in the Baltic States after the declaration of their independence in 1918 as well as the restoration of their state independence in the late 20th century are somewhat similar; therefore, in order to better understand this, the same questions related to both periods are raised: what was the situation before the introduction of the national currency? How was it developed? Where and how were coins and banknotes made? How did we – each state – sought and still seek to look like in our money? Could the names of our money have been different? Could our coins and banknotes have been different? What was the value of our money, what could be purchased for it? Does the loss of the national currency signify the end? To answer the questions, the exhibition revealed the versatile meaning – historical, political, economic, cultural, ideological, artistic – of the national currencies of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia.
Over a thousand exhibits – money and its substitutes, money sketches, designs, models and means of production; also, various articles made from coins – from the national, regional history, departmental museums and private collections, state and private archives as well as library funds of the three Baltic countries were displayed. Some exhibits were shown for the first time, whereas the rarities of exceptional historical and cultural significance were made available to the public only in one of the states.
For the first time the exhibition shows specimens of the original test drafts of the first money of the Republic of Lithuania, muštiniai, of 1920, unpublished sketches of money designed in 1919–1920 by the architect Vladimiras Dubeneckis (1888−1932), sketches of the 1915 monetary units of Telšiai and Plungė – inserted in the WWI-era diary of the Telšiai burgomaster Feliksas Milevičius (1883−1965), a book carrier, and the draft designs of banknotes of 1922 by the artist Adomas Varnas (1879−1979). Estonian and Latvian counterpart museums delivered more than 700 exhibits and digital images. The Latvian collection included plaster models of a 3 lats coin designed, though never produced, by the artist Vilis Krūmiņš (1891−1959); and the models of one of the most aesthetic coins − the gold 20 lats coin created in 1922 by the sculptor Teodors Zaļkalns (1876−1972), which waited 86 years to be issued. The exhibition includes designs of the 5 lats banknote approved for production in 1991, which have never been published or shown and are stored in the archives of the Bank of Latvia. The Bank of Estonia Museum exhibits include a rare Estonian £1,000 bond issued in 1927 to provide a 7% interest loan to support banking and monetary reform, Estonian kroon specimens from the inter-war period, money-making equipment and models, and for the first time, a metal model with three lions, the Estonian coat of arms. The exhibition publication presents the articles displayed in all three countries; the text part contains the illustrations and photographs of the valuables and documents complementing the topics.
The exhibition-journey through the three Baltic States and two historical periods is completed; however, the exhibition publication offers us the opportunity to take a look at the national currencies of the three states, to compare the context of their origin and existence, to decipher the history of the three peoples encoded in them, to highlight commonalities and tell the differences. The valuable insights presented in the introductory article by Dr Vytautas Ališauskas “Images and meanings in Banknotes and Coins of Baltic Countries” will help readers understand the images in the money and their meaning.