Latvian buttonlike coin declared most innovative

RIGA (BNS) - Latvia's silver one-lat coin, the Millenium, made in the shape of a button, has been declared the winner in the most innovative coin category at the annual competition organized by World Coins, the world's largest coin catalog.

Bank of Latvia's spokesman Edzus Vejins said Dec. 18 that the catalog had determined the best 2001 coins in 10 categories. The Latvian button-coin came out a winner among coins from seven countries nominated as being the most innovative.

Other categories included the coin with the greatest historic value, the best gold and silver coins, the most popular coin, the most artistic coin, and so on.

The winners of each of the separate categories, the Latvian coin included, will take part in the final competition results, which will be announced at the end of January.

"Experts regard the World Coins catalog as the world's largest, most respected, and most widely used by coin collectors and experts. So their evaluation of the button-coin is very important," Vejins said.

The coin was made in Latvia in late 1999 as part of the Millenium international coin program.

Vejins explained that the button-coin has been very popular. At the end of 1999, people bought 2,000 of these coins over three days, or "just as many as the mint had coined that far."

The coin is still on sale at the Bank of Latvia, and other banks and outlets selling coins.