A single square centimetre of Latvian earth, cast into a gold coin

On Thursday, 22 May, Latvijas Banka is issuing a gold collector coin "Our Land". The coin's design, created by Māris Upenieks, offers a symbolic portrayal of one square centimetre of Latvian soil. 

The collector coin bears the imprint of the author's deeply personal story. A symbol of Latvia's land, this coin represents a piece that belongs to all, cherished like gold, but ultimately priceless, even when cast in gold. The coin also stands as a symbol of our unwavering resolve to defend our land – from the very first to the last square centimetre. 

Latvia covers an area of sixty-four thousand five hundred and eighty-nine square kilometres. Vast landscapes with dense forests, wide fields, clear lakes, refreshing rivers, mossy marshes, and sandy beaches. Hundreds and thousands of our native homesteads, villages, and towns. Every part of this is the land of our Latvia. 

However, each of us has a place in Latvia that feels a little closer to our heart than the rest. A place where the generations before us lived and worked, setting the groundwork for the story of each of our lives. 

For the author of the coin, this place is in the Preiļi region, where, after participating in the freedom fights, his great-grandfather bought a piece of land on the outskirts of a small village in the early 1920s. Not long after, he built a log house there with his own hands – a home whose hearth still radiates warmth to this day. 

A small piece of soil, measuring precisely one square centimetre, from the yard of the author's great-grandfather's home, was scanned and recreated in this gold coin. 

The artist won Latvijas Banka's open design competition organised at the end of 2023 with his graphic design proposal for the "Our Land" coin, a competition open to artists and art students.

The gold collector coin will be available for purchase on the website e-monetas.lv from 12:00 (noon) on 22 May. The price of the coin is 175.00 euro; the purchase limit for one buyer is 2 coins. The mintage of the coin is 2500. The coin was struck by Koninklijke Nederlandse Munt (the Netherlands).

OUR LAND

Face value: 10 euro

Weight: 1.24 g
Shape: a square with rounded corners (10.0 mm × 10.0 mm)
Metal: 999.9°gold

Quality: proof
Maximum mintage: 2500
Struck in 2025 by Koninklijke Nederlandse Munt (the Netherlands)

Artist

Graphic design: Māris Upenieks

Obverse

A textured surface featuring a scanned depiction of the black earth from the home of the coin designer's great-grandfather.

Reverse

The inscription "LATVIJA" appears on a smooth surface, with the year 2025 below it, and the inscription "10 EURO" underneath.

Edge

Plain.

Sixty-four thousand five hundred eighty-nine square kilometres. Vast landscapes with dense forests, wide fields, clear lakes, refreshing rivers, mossy marshes, and sandy beaches. Hundreds and thousands of our native homesteads, villages, and towns. This is our land.

Each of us has a place in Latvia that is a little closer and warmer to the heart than all the others. A place where previous generations have lived and worked, laying the foundation for each person's life story.

For the author of the coin, this place is in the Preiļi region, where, after participating in the freedom fights, his great-grandfather bought a piece of land on the outskirts of a small village in the early 1920s. Soon, with his own hands, he built a log house here, and its hearth remains warm to this day.

A small piece of soil, one square centimetre in size, from the author's great-grandfather's yard is represented on this gold coin. It stands as a symbol of the truth that each of us has such a place somewhere in Latvia – worth its weight in gold, yet priceless. It is also a symbol of our readiness to defend our land. From the first centimetre to the last one.

Our land – no matter where the winds may come from – has always been and will remain ours forever.

Activity of Latvijas Banka regarding the issuance of collector coins and 2 euro commemorative coins 

Since 1993, Latvijas Banka has issued 98 lats collector coins and 58 euro collector coins. Overall, more than 50 artists from Latvia and now also 1 artist from Ukraine have participated in designing Latvian coins.

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 numismatics publishing house 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, whereas 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 employees of Latvijas Banka, outstanding experts in Latvian art and culture as well as artists and scientists. 

After the euro changeover, Latvijas Banka has carried on the tradition of issuing collector coin series with motifs characteristic of Latvia and executed in high artistic quality. These coins are legal tender only in the issuing country. They are unlikely to come into general circulation, for, by nature, they are works of art enjoying high demand from the numismatic community and other interested parties. 

The face value of collector coins must differ from that of coins in general circulation (it must be, e.g. 5 euro or 10 euro). Their specifications, including colour, diameter, weight, material, etc. have to be cardinally distinctive from those of the coins in general circulation. 

For information on the collector coins on sale at e-monetas.lv/en and the Cashier's Office of Latvijas Banka, see https://www.e-monetas.lv/en and https://monetas.bank.lv/en/coins-for-sale. 

The issuance of 2 euro commemorative coins (2 euro circulation coins of special design) is another area of coin art. Each year, every euro area country is entitled to issue two 2 euro commemorative coins (similar to 1 lats special circulation coins previously issued in Latvia), featuring events of national, European, or global significance. The euro area countries can additionally produce a third 2 euro commemorative coin, provided that it is issued jointly and that it commemorates events of European Union-wide importance. 

Commemorative coins bear the same features and the same common or European side as the normal 2 euro circulation coins, while their national sides differ and feature a national commemorating motif. 

Euro commemorative coins are legal tender throughout the euro area. This means they can be used – and must be accepted – just like any other euro coin.