THERE’S A NEW EURO coin in circulation from today with Lithuania’s national coat of arms – a knight on horseback with sword and shield – on one side.
You’ll be used to seeing euro coins (like those below) from many different countries, and this coat of arms, which has appeared on the Lithuania’s national currency since the 14th century, will be the latest addition.
Lithuania welcomed a New Year and a new currency today, becoming the last Baltic nation to adopt the euro in a bid to boost stability despite fears of inflation and eurozone debt woes.
Prime Minister Algirdas Butkevicius withdrew his first €10 from a Vilnius cash machine after midnight, as fireworks signed off a year marked by alarm over Russia’s role in the Ukraine conflict and its economic crisis.
“The euro will serve as a guarantee for our economic and political security,” Butkevicius said at a ceremony alongside officials from Estonia and Latvia.
“The transition to the new currency was smooth and successful,” Lithuanian central bank governor Vitas Vasiliauskas told reporters, as the country became the 19th member of the eurozone.
As shops opened on New Year’s Day, customers said they needed to think twice to assess the value of items in euros, instead of litas.
“Everything seems cheap,” said 32-year-old Kastytis Backis, as he left a supermarket in the capital Vilnius.
The two currencies will circulate together as legal tender for two weeks. Dual pricing will remain until June.
Lithuania brought in 132 million individual banknotes — which are standard across the eurozone — from the German Bundesbank but minted its own euro coins.
Additional reporting AFP
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