10 centų LITHUANIA (1997)

in the centre Coat of Arms (Vytis) by Arvydas Kazdailis, below in two lines: LIETUVA / 1997 (Lithuania and year of issue)

face value: 10 centered, below centered: CENTŲ, both composed inside a convex, triangle, pine-tree-like pattern

reeded

1997

15 I 2015

Antanas Žukauskas

Lietuvos Monetų Kalykla (The Lithuanian Mint), Vilnius

1997

???

There were 166,700,000 coins of various types of 10 centų denomination in Lithuanian circulation on December 31, 2013. In 2014 they were being withdrawn gradually from circulation.

1997 - a) all elements on the reverse thin or b) all element thick like in later years (differences especially visible inside digit 0 of the denomination and between digits 1 and 0)

The winning design of new Lithuanian coins 10, 20 and 50 centų as well as 1, 2 and 5 litai proposed by Antanas Zakauskas contains clear concave and convex elements, which allow distinguishing between the types of coins even by sight-impaired. Usage of bimetal technology for the coins of higher face values 2 and 5 litas not only improved fast type recognision, but also limited forgery activities.

The obverse side of 10, 20 and 50 cents of 1997 differs slightly from coins with dates 1998 and higher. The most distinguishable change is the finishing of the front right horse-hoof from the flat in 1997 to down-pointed in 1998 and later.