Latvia’s central bank on Oct. 31 issued a silver collector coin marking the centennial of basketball in Latvia.

The Latvian Basketball Federation was founded in 1923.

Basketball is one of the most popular and easily accessible sports in the world.

Latvia boasts significant achievements in this sport, with the national team having won the First European Men’s Basketball Championship in 1935. Most recently, Latvian men’s basketball team earned fifth place in the 2023 FIBA World Cup.

Artist Paulis Liepa designed the Proof .999 fine silver €5 coin. The design communicates that basketball is a strategic game.

The obverse displays a basketball basket with a gold-plated ball on the basket’s rim.

The artist includes a tactical diagram from a basketball game on the reverse. The inscription “20:23” symbolizes not only the year of the coin’s issue but also the score of the game displayed on the scoreboard, assuming it is an away game for the Latvian team, according to the Latvijas Banka.

The coin weighs 22 grams and measures 35 millimeters in diameter. It has a mintage limit of 3,000 pieces and retails for €84.

It was minted by the Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato S.p.A., the Italian State Mint.

The coin is available only on the website, e-monetas.lv, and the purchase limit is two coins.

Connect with Coin World:  
Sign up for our free eNewsletter
Access our Dealer Directory  
Like us on Facebook  
Follow us on X (Twitter)
Keep in touch on MyCollect - the social media platform for collectibles 

Whether you’re a current subscriber or new, you can take advantage of the best offers on magazine subscriptions available in digital, print or both! Whether you want your issue every week or every month, there’s a subscription to meet your needs.