1 Centas

Lithuania restored its pre-war monetary system — the litas and its subdivision the centas — by legal act in 1990, over a year before the Soviet Union formally recognized Lithuanian independence. This aluminium 1 centas was struck in anticipation of full monetary separation from the ruble zone, a transition that proved slower in practice than in legislation. The coins sat in reserve while the Soviet ruble remained the de facto currency.

The design revived the interwar coinage tradition interrupted by Soviet occupation in 1940.