The one-lat collectors’ coin "Latvian ABC" was issued in two coinages: in silver and in copper and nickel alloy. The new jubilee coin is a miniature artwork dedicated to the history of Latvian education. The Bank of Latvia has used tired and tested practices from elsewhere in the world in striking the coin both at the highest, proof quality in silver, and also at the lower degree, Brilliant Uncirculated quality as a a copper and nickel alloy. The silver coin is presented in a box; the copper and nickel one in special packing, supplied with rich informative material.  The coin's obverse features a Latvian peasant child learning to read, and the reverse - the cockerel found on the cover of the oldest-known Latvian ABC.

The first Latvian ABC dates back to 1683; a fragment in the form of uncut printer's sheets was found in 1941 at the library of the University of Tartu. It is adorned with a drawing of a cockerel. Ināra Klekere, head of the Rare Books and Manuscripts Department of the Latvian National Library: "The cockerel of the Latvian ABC comes from an old tradition. It is also often found in the ABCs of other nations. The cockerel on the front cover of an ABC even in modern times has retained its pre-Christian symbolism: he is a herald of morning light, who has set his sights eastward; the three ribbons that are also featured on the Latvian ABC probably symbolize the thrice repeated morning call of the cockerel."

The maximum issue of the silver coin will be 5,000 pieces. The maximum issue of the copper-and-nickel one will be 10,000 pieces. The coin "Latvian ABC" will be available for purchase at the Bank of Latvia and the traditional points of sale: banks as well as souvenir and jewellery shops. The price of the silver coin at the Bank of Latvia's counters is set at LVL 25.30 (36.50 euro) and that of the copper and nickel alloy at LVL 5 (7.13 euro).

More information on the coins issued by the bank of Latvia is available in Latvian, English and Russian at the website www.bank.lv.