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11 Nov 2015

The Thaler dedicated to the 85th anniversary of the Riga Central Market has been created!

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The Thaler dedicated to the 85th anniversary of the Riga Central Market has been created!

The Riga Central Market would like to say a big thank you to everyone who came forward and participated in the key event of the celebrations in honour of the 85th anniversary since the establishment of the Riga Central Market – the creation of the commemorative Riga Central Market Thaler. We have been really pleased and surprised by your response and the sincere stories that you have told us about the coins donated for the commemorative Thaler.

The coins collected in the special money box for the commemorative Riga Central Market Thaler weighed a total of 27 kilos and 843 grams.

Among the many coins, there were several coins dating back to the first period of the Free State of Latvia that had been minted during the construction of the Riga Central Market: in 1924 and 1926. Among the coins, we also found four rings, which were later smelted into the great Thaler. Geographically, the commemorative Riga Central Market Thaler combines not only the coins from Latvia and other European countries, but also from distant countries and continents, such as the United States, India, Mexico and Africa.

1Everyone interested had the chance to drop their coin for the great commemorative Thaler in the money box specially designated for that purpose during one month. The picture shows the amount of coins a week before minting the Thaler. At that time, the box held about 10 kilos of coins.

2The most heartfelt and joyful moment was when children from two preschools in Riga arrived on the last day of collecting the coins and brought the coins they had been gathering jointly for the whole month.


3Before the coins were poured into the money box, they were weighed thoroughly. As you can see, the coins collected by these small, caring children over one month will account for half of the commemorative Riga Central Market Thaler.

4The representatives from among the pre-school children are making their contribution to the commemorative Riga Central Market Thaler to share their impressions with all their peers later.

5Riga Municipality JSC Riga Central Market would like to express its sincere thanks, once again, to the children and teachers from preschools No. 49 and No. 209. Our special thanks also go to the headteacher of preschool No. 49, historian Vineta Jonīte. The children were promised that after the finishing of the Thaler is completed, they will be the first to see and touch it.
6The coins collected over one month were poured one by one into a special oven where they were smelted at 1,250 degrees Celsius for several hours to obtain a homogeneous metal alloy.

7The artistic appearance of the coin was designed by the computer graphic artist Ilze Cihovska, while the mould was created by the sculptor and teacher at the Art Academy of Latvia Kārlis Alainis who also took care of the quality outcome throughout the coin smelting process.

8Finally, the long-awaited moment arrived. On November 6, at the end of the Riga Central Market anniversary week, all the coins donated by the people of Riga and out-of-town visitors were smelted and cast into the mould of the commemorative Thaler. This event was witnessed by many people.

9Still hot and glowing, but already well recognisable: this is the Thaler dedicated to the 85th anniversary of the Riga Central Market that was created thanks to the efforts of all those people of Riga and out-of-town visitors who had brought at least one coin.

10The sculptor Kārlis Alainis acknowledges that the creation of the Thaler was associated with some risk, as the alloy of so many different metals is not a common material used in sculpture. Pleased that everything went smoothly, K.Alainis demonstrates the plaster model created for making the mould for the Thaler. The only thing left is the post-processing to bring out the relief of the coin in the best possible way and exhibit the commemorative Riga Central Market Thaler before the people of Riga and out-of-town visitors.

 

 

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