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Lithuanian 'aviator' bill gains wings in gay circles

02 January 2015, 22:57 CET
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(VILNIUS) - Lithuania abandoned the litas Thursday when it became the 19th country to adopt the euro but at least one of the old bills is still in vogue, a gay activist said Friday.

Vladimir Simonko, co-founder of the Lithuanian Gay League, told AFP the 10-litas note -- which features two pilots in uniform -- was being traded in gay circles in Western Europe for as much as 10 pounds sterling (12.80 euros, $15.30), which is about four times its value at the current exchange rate.

For Simonko, the note aroused interest among foreigners "because it shows two handsome men in uniform. One finds oneself wondering why they are two and what their relationship is."

Simonko said he had heard of "several cases" of foreigners paying over the odds for 10-litas notes.

He himself planned on keeping some bills "for historical purposes and as souvenirs".

The aviators who lent their faces to the note are Steponas Darius et Stasys Girenas.

In 1933, the pair attempted a non-stop flight from New York to Kaunas, Lithuania. The plane crashed 37 hours into the flight, after crossing the Atlantic Ocean.

The pilots are revered in Lithuania as heroes.


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