The National Bank of Georgia is pleased to announce the issuance of a new collector coin to mark the 100th anniversary of the adoption of the first Constitution of Georgia.

The Constituent Assembly of the Democratic Republic of Georgia first adopted the country's Constitution on February 21, 1921. The Constitution recognized that Georgia is a free, independent and indivisible state and a democratic republic in terms of political establishment. The document determined Tbilisi as the capital city and approved Georgian to be the official state language.

Georgia's first constitution enshrined human rights and freedoms and held that all citizens were equal in terms of gender, political, civil, economic and family rights. In addition to the rights of citizens, the Constitution recognized the rights of ethnic minorities. The content of Georgia's first Constitution was one of the most advanced for that time. The Constitution acknowledged values ​​such as freedom, democracy, and the rule of law.

The Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Georgia played an important role in the development of the history of Georgian constitutionalism and statehood. The current constitution is based on the core principles of the 1921 Constitution. Importantly, it is the Constitution that defines the status of the National Bank of Georgia, documenting its independence.

The design for the collector coin was selected through an open competition. The coin design was jointly produced by Georgie Apkhazava and Maia Dzidziguri. Coins with 1500 mintage were struck at the Kremnica Mint in Slovakia. The price point set at GEL 95, the coin will be available for sale through the online store of the National Bank of Georgia - https://moneymuseum.nbg.gov.ge starting from 4 PM July 6, 2021 and also at Cash Centre of the National Bank of Georgia (located at Kakheti Highway 72, Tbilisi) and in Money Museum of the National Bank of Georgia (located at 10 Shota Rustaveli Street, Kvareli) from July 9, 2021.

To make the coins available to more interested parties, the products will be sold for a limited time for 15 days from July 6, 2021: one coin will be sold per customer (the restriction applies to all official sales channels).

The central composition of the obverse  is the intertwined letters in Georgian "ს", "დ", "რ", which is a combination of the initials of the words making up the full name of the country (i.e. საქართველოს დემოკრატიული რესპუბლიკა - Translation into English - Democratic Republic of Georgia)) in 1921. Below the composition there is an analogue of the ornament on the first and last pages of the first edition of the Constitution published in 1921. Inscriptions in Georgian and in English "GEORGIAN CONSTITUTION", "საქართველო", "GEORGIA", "საქართველოს კონსტიტუცია", "1921-2021" are inscribed in a circle on the obverse.

The focal composition of the reverse is important words and phrases taken from various articles of the Constitution of Georgia figured in a shape of rhombus. The reverse also has an inscription "5 ლარი".

Specifications of the coin:
Face value: 5 Lari
Alloy: Ag925
Weight: 15.5 g
Diameter: 33 mm
Edge: smooth
Quality: proof
Mintage: 1500
Year of issue: 2021

As evidenced by international practice, collectors and numismatists remain one of the target audiences for the issuance of collector coins by central banks, whose keen interest derives from the limited number of such coins.

It is widely known that collector coins are dedicated to historical dates and remarkable events of national importance. The mintage is limited for each coin of different characteristics/specifications. The theme of collector coins, along with the idiosyncrasies of the country and other factors are considered when deciding on the number of collector coins to be minted.