On Thursday, 4 September, Latvijas Banka is issuing a new 5 euro silver collector coin dedicated to Gotthard Friedrich Stender (1714–1796), the founder of Latvian secular literature.

The graphic design of the coin is created by Aigars Ozoliņš, and Jānis Strupulis is the author of the plaster model. The coin has been struck in the Netherlands by Koninklijke Nederlandse Munt. The images on coin's obverse are taken from the title page of the first edition of "A Book of High Wisdom on the World and Nature" by G. F. Stenders, also known as Vecais Stenders (Old Stenders) in Latvia: a pastor is showing a boy how full of wonders this world is. The reverse of the coin features the progressive idea of the world, the heliocentric concept of the universe.

The coin celebrates the 300th anniversary since the birth of G. F. Stender.

Old Stenders is an outstanding representative of the 18th century Enlightenment. He is considered the founder of Latvian secular literature. He wrote fairy-tales, fables, short stories and popular songs; he compiled ABCs in Latvian and created such works essential for the formation of a cultural nation as a grammar of the Latvian language and a Latvian-German and German-Latvian dictionary.

"A Book of High Wisdom on the World and Nature" (1774), in fact the very first peasant encyclopaedia in Europe, is the most outstanding of all the creations by G. F. Stender. It explains natural phenomena and the basic principles of physics and astronomy, including rotating of the Earth around its axis and around the Sun; from it one can get basic insights into issues related to meteorology, zoology, botany, chemistry and geology; it tells its readers about mountains and deserts, earthquakes and volcanoes, seas and rivers.

The euro collector coin dedicated to Old Stenders is legal tender in the Republic of Latvia. Its mintage is limited to 10 000 coins.

Face value: 5 euro
Weight: 22.00 g; diameter: 35.00 mm
Metal: silver of .925 fineness; quality: proof
Struck in 2014 by Koninklijke Nederlandse Munt (the Netherlands)
Artists: Aigars Ozoliņš (graphic design), Jānis Strupulis (plaster model)

Obverse
A theme from the title page of the first edition of the "Book of High Wisdom on the World and Nature" (1774) by Gotthard Friedrich Stender (1714–1796) is a central motif: a pastor is showing a boy how full of wonders this world is. At the top on the left, there are semi-circled inscriptions 2014 and LATVIJA.

Reverse
The reverse of the coin features the progressive idea of the world, the heliocentric concept of the universe. The image comprises the inscriptions "G. F. Stender" and "Latwis". Above it, there are semi-circled inscriptions VECAIS STENDERS on the left and "5 euro" slightly on the right.

Edge
The inscriptions LATVIJAS REPUBLIKA and LATVIJAS BANKA, separated by rhombic dots.

Source of information: Bank of Latvia www.bank.lv