Latvia Honey Coin Wins Coin of the Year at 2020 COTY Awards
Latvia’s Honey Coin was named Coin of the Year at the 2020 Krause Coin of the Year (COTY) Awards. The awards ceremony was held on February 1, 2020, in conjunction with the World Money Fair in Berlin, Germany.
“The impact of bees on both our ecologies and economies is fast being recognized as mammoth, so this simple and elegant design presents a lovely counterpoint to focus human response,” said Coin of the Year coordinator Tom Michael.
The gold-plated silver coin, dated 2018, has a face value of 5 Euros. Its unique hexagon design was created by artist Artūrs Analts. In 2017, the Coin Design Commission of Latvijas Banka held a contest searching for ideas to create an innovative coin in terms of its motif, design, or technical solution, and Anants’ design was selected. The coin was struck by the Lithuanian Mint.
The Honey Coin is dedicated to ecology, highlighting the role of bees in preserving biodiversity. As described by the Bank of Latvia:
Honey has a special role in Latvia. Together with the diligent honey bees it is widely present in our folk songs; it is an important food, traditional medicine and cosmetics product. Citizens, who are as busy as bees in their day-to-day lives, fill their country like bees fill a hive. Therefore, the “Honey Coin” is a symbol of diligence and sweetness of work. The bees also have a significant role to play in maintaining the biological diversity, and their presence is an indicator of nature’s healthiness.
On the coin’s obverse, honeycomb cells form a rough outline of the geographic contour of Latvia and the Gulf of Riga. Various types of frosting are applied to achieve this effect. The inscription LATVIJA is placed in the lower left part of the coin, with the year 2018 below it. The reverse features honeycomb cells. The number “5” is placed to the left of the center, slightly lower, with the inscription EURO below. Making the coin even more unique, several coins can be placed side by side like puzzle pieces create an even larger honeycomb, much like bees do it in their hive.
Latvia’s Honey Coin weighs 16.50 gram and has a diameter of 29 mm. The maximum mintage of the coin is limited to 3,000.