Latvijas Banka is issuing a coin 'Bridal Crown' adorned with crystals

On Thursday, 21 May, Latvijas Banka is issuing a silver collector coin "Bridal Crown". It depicts a sequin crown, adorned with six transparent crystals. 

In traditional culture, a wedding is a rite of passage. At its centre is the daughter's entry into the role of a wife, marked by the loss of the symbol of her maiden status – the crown. Within the wedding ritual, the bride, wearing her special headdress, is set apart and guarded. At the wedding, the bride crosses the boundary between two worlds, passing from the familiar, orderly, and safe one into another, new and unknown, symbolically dying and being reborn. 

Sequin crowns were worn in South Courland during the 19th century. Not everyone could afford such a crown, as it was costly. Therefore, crowns could be borrowed when necessary. A single headdress could serve for the weddings of several brides. 

The name given to the sequin crown describes the distinctive decoration of its upper surface. Into the ornate crown's base, whose surface was wrapped in a patterned silver brocade ribbon, bundles of metal wires were inserted. Upon these rests the cloud-like adornment of the upper part – spirals of metal wires in various shapes, complemented with colourful glass beads, metal-foil flowers, and thin, smooth metal discs (sequins), creating a seemingly chaotic shape of a cloud. With every breeze and movement of the wearer, the discs stir and tremble endlessly, and as the metal plates touch, they produce a barely audible sound. The bridal crown shimmers and glitters, reflecting light on the facets of the metal surfaces coated with a thin layer of silver. 

The impressive bridal crown depicted on the coin was created by artist Dace Lielā, who has captured within it something seemingly intangible. The ornate beauty of the sequin crown is highlighted by six transparent crystals. 

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 21 May. The price of the coin is 120.00 euro, the purchase limit for one buyer is 3 coins. The mintage of the coin is 3000. The coin has been struck by Lietuvos monetų kalykla in Lithuania.