Home

UNICEF Children

Coin Issued within the UNICEF Program For the Children of the World

The United Nations Children's Fund (or UNICEF) was created by the United Nations General Assembly on December 11, 1946, to provide emergency food and healthcare to children in countries that had been devastated by World War II. In 1953, UNICEF became a permanent part of the United Nations System and its name was shortened from the original United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund but it has continued to be known by the popular acronym based on this old name. Headquartered in New York City, UNICEF provides long-term humanitarian and developmental assistance to children and mothers in developing countries. UNICEF relies on contributions from governments and private donors and UNICEF's total income for 2006 was $2,781,000,000. Governments contribute two thirds of the organization's resources; private groups and some 6 million individuals contribute the rest through the National Committees. UNICEF's programs emphasize developing community-level services to promote the health and well-being of children. UNICEF was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1965 and the Prince of Asturias Award of Concord in 2006.

The coin's reverse bears a drawing of an eleven-year-old girl, Guna Bārbale, who won a competition of 4 000 works by over 3 000 works by Latvian children.

The child on the crossroads is the pivot for the flowing river and the alluring road, and the vertical that serves to link the Earth's gravity to the vastness of the Universe.

With the very first days of life, a child perceives its immediate surroundings as its natural environment. With experience comes the understanding that beyond the horizon lie worlds yet to be explored.

In childhood, there is a communion with the secret rites of the Nature. It is a world of possibility and wonder that for an adult tends to disappear behind a facade of rationality and compromise.

A child's world lacks a clear cut border between reality and fantasy, between what exists and what is desired. It is a world of freedom. It is up to adults to make the world such that this childish sense of freedom may easily transform into a different, responsible freedom.

Is the world ready for me? Will it welcome me? Asks the child at the crossroads.

Latvia 2000 UNICEF Children
Obverse: 
The large coat of arms of the Republic of Latvia is featured in the upper part of the obverse. Beneath the coat of arms, there is the inscription LATVIJAS REPUBLIKA (Republic of Latvia). The numeral 1 is placed in the lower part, and beneath it, the inscription LATS is arranged in a semicircle. The year 2000 is to the left of the inscription LATS.
Reverse: 
The central motif is a drawing by Guna Barbale, an eleven-year-old Latvian girl: a child standing on the top of a hill is set against the background of rivers, hills and the sun. The motif, which is encircled by the inscription FOR THE CHILDREN OF THE WORLD, is topped by the UNICEF logotype.

Booklet

Latvia 2000 UNICEF Children
Latvia 2000 UNICEF Children
Country: 
Catalog ID: 
LV52CM1
Krause ID: 
KM# 48
Value: 
€73
Mintage: 
6000
Quality: 
Face value: 
Material: 
Purity: 
0.925
Weight: 
31.47g
Diameter: 
38.61mm
Year: 
Type: 
Shape and style: 
Edge: 
Edge Lettering: 
Two inscriptions LATVIJAS BANKA (Bank of Latvia), separated by three stars
Mint: 
International program: 
Designer: 
Designer: 
Graphic design: 
Plaster model: 
Source of information: 
Source of information: