Republic of Lithuania is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, Poland to the south, and the Russian semi-exclave of Kaliningrad Oblast to the southwest, with a maritime border with Sweden to the west.
The first Lithuanian money, Lithuanian Long with notches.
The first written record of the name of the country dates back to 1009 AD.
In the 1230's, Lithuanian lands were united for the first time by Mindaugas, who formed the Kingdom of Lithuania on 6 July 1253. Subsequent expansion resulted in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, which by the 14th century was the largest country in Europe. In 1569, Poland and Lithuania united into a bi-confederal Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth. Between 1772 and 1795, the Russian Empire annexed most of Lithuania. Lithuania declared independence in 1918 but was occupied by Soviet Union in 1944. In 1990, the first Soviet country to break away and became independent. Its capital is Vilnius.
The Lithuanian long currency was a type of money used by the Baltic tribes and in the early Grand Duchy of Lithuania in the 12th to 15th centuries. It was in the form of silver ingots. Mostly, they were semicircular rods about 13 cm in length and between 100 and 110 gm in weight. The currency is also known as Ilgasis, Kapa (from kopa, which is a unit equal to 60), Grivina or Rublis.
The notches on the bar were for establishing the quality of silver. The Scandinavian mark was taken as the basis for the weight of semi-cylindrical stick shaped silver bars. Oblong shaped silver bars were widespread across the region. The form of bar was likely determined by the simplicity of its production and convenience for the user. The simplest method of casting an oblong stick shaped ingot was to pour, with a scoop of a certain volume, the necessary amount of molten silver into a groove made in soil (or clay/sand). These were of high value, therefore, when circulated, they were often cut into smaller pieces.
About two years back, researchers in Kernave discovered a treasure trove of these silver rods, while digging in the remains of a decayed manor. This was the site of the medieval capital of Grand Duchy of Lithuania some 30 km to the northwest of Vilnius.
