0 euro souvenir banknotes have been around for 5 years now, and the banknotes fascinate people of all ages around the globe. The variety of motifs is incredibly rich. It ranges from unique cultural sights to personalities of politics and history as well as old castles and palaces. Institutions in France and Germany are currently issuing the largest share of souvenir banknotes per year, however, their designs often lack “the special something”. Some depictions seem to be quite unimaginative. In addition, there are often several errors regarding the design of the notes. Therefore it is somethings special when the extensive monetary history of a country is presented to us on such banknotes, as in the case of Finland. The eight Finnish 0 euro banknotes issued since 2020 feature portraits of the country’s rulers with images of coins they issued.
0 Euro Souvenir Banknotes Illustrate Finland’s Eventful Coinage History
The first three banknotes show the three rulers from Sweden and examples of their coinage: Sigismund III Vasa, Charles IX Vasa and Gustavus II Adolphus Vasa. This series can be identified thanks to the letters LEBF.
A second series shows the rulers from Russia up to the year 1917: Alexander I, Nicholas I, Alexander II, Alexander III and Nicholas II. This series is marked with the letters LEBH, which might indicate another issuing authority. I’m currently not in the position to confirm whether that is the case.
The Third Series Starts With the First Finnish President
After the last series was concluded by Tsar Nicholas II, at the beginning of 2021 Finland started issuing another series dedicated to the new beginning of the country as the Republic of Finland and to its presidents. The banknote depicts the portrait of the first Finnish president (1919-1925) K. J. Ståhlberg and coins from this period. Further banknotes will probably be added to this beautiful series. The series has the letters LEBM, which indicates a third issuer. Another banknote with president L.K. Relander (1925-1931) has already been planned.
5,000 pieces of all souvenir banknotes on this subject were issued. There are two different versions. The “normal version” (4,000 banknotes) and a second version with the imprint “ANNIVERSARY 2020” (1,000 banknotes).
European Countries Feature Coins on 0 Euro Banknotes
There are also individual issues of other countries depicting coins. They were issued in Poland, Slovakia, France and Germany.
If we made you curious, you should take a look at Michael Godeau’s website. There you can experience the rich variety of motifs, arranged by country.
Find out more about the subject in our archive category 0 euro notes.
There you can find out which errors were made regarding the design of zero euro notes.
The images of the banknotes were made available by courtesy of the EuroSchein-Souvenir GmbH.
