Catalog
10 Litu
| Issuer | Lietuvos Bankas (Bank of Lithuania) |
|---|---|
| Year | 1991 |
| Type | Log in to see details |
| Value | Log in to see details |
| Currency | New litas (1993-2014) |
| Composition | Log in to see details |
| Size | Log in to see details |
| Shape | Log in to see details |
| Printer | Log in to see details |
| Designer(s) | Log in to see details |
| Engraver(s) | Log in to see details |
| In circulation to | Log in to see details |
| Reference(s) | Log in to see details |
| Obverse description | Brownish black and brown on tan underprint. Dual portrait vignette of aviators Steponas Darius and Stasys Girėnas at center, framed by guilloche patterning. Denomination and issuing authority inscriptions appear in Lithuanian, with facsimile signatures of bank officials below. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Reverse description | Brown and purple on multicolor underprint. Central vignette of the monoplane Lituanica in flight above clouds, with a background map of the North Atlantic spanning North America and Europe referencing the 1933 transatlantic flight. The Lithuanian Coat of Arms (Vytis) appears at upper right. |
| Reverse lettering | Log in to see details |
| Signature(s) | Log in to see details |
| Protection type | Log in to see details |
| Protection description | Log in to see details |
| Variants | Log in to see details |
| Comments |
Lithuania declared the restoration of its independence in March 1990, but the transition away from Soviet roubles took time — the litas, reintroduced in 1993, was preceded by the talonas coupon system. This 1991 note was printed well ahead of actual monetary reform, ordered from USBNC in New York as part of the preparatory stockpile that Lithuania quietly accumulated before its currency could be formally launched. The order itself was a political act: contracting an American security printer while still nominally under Soviet pressure was anything but routine.
USBNC ceased operations in 1989, meaning these notes were almost certainly printed before the company's closure and held in reserve — the 1991 date likely reflects authorization or delivery, not press date.