1 litas LITHUANIA (1999) 10 Years of The Baltic Way

in the centre Coat of Arms (Vytis) by Arvydas Každailis inside the shield, this surrounded by a convex circle; the coat of arms splits the issue year: 1999, along the top edge: LIETUVA (Lithuania); along the bottom edge face value: 1 LITAS

motif with three pairs of holding hands centered, on their sleeves patterns characteristic for national handcrafts of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia; above the hands an oak branch with three leaves; along the top edge: * BALTIJOS KELIUI - 10 * (10 years of the Baltic Way); along the bottom edge: LIETUVA * LATVIJA * ESTIJA (Lithuania * Latvia * Estonia)

five reeded and five plain sections

16 VIII 1999

15 I 2015

Antanas Žukauskas

Lietuvos Monetų Kalykla (The Lithuanian Mint), Vilnius

1999

1 000 000

Hidden organisations from Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, who were revolting against Soviet Union, organised secretly a demonstration, which was supposed to show to the world the resistance to the Soviet occupation and the demand for independence. On 23rd August 1989, 50 years after signing the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact 'legalising' Soviet occupation of Baltic Countries, about 2 mil inhabitants (out of total 8 mil in Baltic Countries) caught their hands and formed a living chain connecting a total distance of 600 km between Vilnius and Tallinn via Riga. This peaceful demonstration of power significantly accelerated the fall of Soviet Union.

We are attaching two photos from Vilnius-Kaunas motorway taken on 23rd August 1989.