1925 m. laidos Lietuvos Respublikos monetų kūrimo ir kaldinimo problematika

LTStraipsnyje nagrinėjama 1925 m. laidos Lietuvos Respublikos monetų kūrimo ir kaldinimo problematika. Remiantis archyvo duomenimis, tarpukario Lietuvos periodine spauda ir kitais šaltiniais, pirmą kartą išsamiau aptariamas 1923 m. surengtas monetų projektų konkursas, tikslinama projektų autorystė, nustatomos skulptoriaus Juozo Zikaro parengtų monetų modelių datos. Aiškinamasi, kodėl monetas kaldinti buvo pavesta Anglijos bendrovėms ir kodėl centų monetas pasirinkta kaldinti iš aliumininės bronzos. Nagrinėjama, kodėl apyvartoje trūko 1 cento monetų ir kaip ši problema buvo sprendžiama. Taip atskleidžiamos to meto monetų kūrimą ir kaldinimą lėmusios aplinkybės. [Iš leidinio]Reikšminiai žodžiai: Centai; Denominacija; Juozas Zikaras; Kaldinimas; Litas; Moneta, projektas, modelis, kaldinimas, Lietuva; Monetų kaldinimas; Monetų modeliai; Monetų projektai; Nominalas; Tarpukario monetos; Cent; Coin designs; Coin models; Coin project, model, minting, Lithuania; Coinage; Denomination; Denominations; Interwar coins; Juozas Zikaras; Litas; Lithuania; Minting.

ENMuch has been written about Lithuania’s interwar coins; however, this has been mainly confined to just a few known facts: a statement that the coins were designed by Juozas Zikaras, a description of the coins’ denominations and appearance, as well as naming of the mints that minted the coins, and the coin mintages. Coin minting in that period has not been researched in sufficient detail. There is more than one question to which no answer has been given. Literature contains some hints about the competition for the creation of coin designs, but no one gives a more comprehensive account of this competition. The Ministry of Finance, Trade and Industry announced this competition on 12 October 1923, and on 17 November the Competition Commission awarded bonuses to Bernardas Bučas for the denomination sides of the 5 centas and 10 centas coins. The Commission also acquired the designs for 1 litas by B. Bučas, 50 centas by Juozas Kaminskas, and 3 litas by Balys Buračas. Despite organising the competition for the designs of the coins, the Ministry of Finance, Trade and Industry mandated the sculptor Juozas Zikaras with the creation of coin designs and plaster models. Under the contract concluded in 1924, for LTL 11,000, J. Zikaras designed the plaster models for 11 coins: the denomination sides and the coat-of-arms side for the 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 centas coins and the 1, 2, 5, 10 litas coins. In 1925, new plaster models for the 2 litas and 5 litas were designed without concluding a contract, and in 1926 - two models for gold coins.Another question yet to be answered is why were English companies chosen in 1925 for the minting of the coins? Especially considering that, in the competition for the minting of silver coins, an English company offered the highest price. As seen from the research, the decisions at that time were determined by political and economic circumstances. The executor of the coin minting was foreseen as early as prior to the competition being organised. In order for the English company to win, Lithuania’s Ministry of Finance and the Minister, Vytautas Petrulis, prepared in advance and passed the Law on Coins, favouring that company, and prepared complimentary regulations of the competition. The article also tries to uncover the reason behind the lack of 1 centas coins of 1925 issue and the refusal to mint an additional mintage of the coin in 1928 and 1931. The question is also raised as to why Lithuania chose to mint all centas coins from aluminium bronze and why from only one metal, when the majority of other European states minted such coins from two different metals. [From the publication]

• Archeologija / Archaeology
• Istorija / History