October 5, 2017 – A commemorative coin paying tribute to Finland’s nature has been launched on 18 September, 2017. The coin is part of the Finland 100 programme celebrating the centenary of Finland’s independence. Its design is based on the winning shot in the Blue and White special category of the Nature Photograph of the Year contest. The Finnish Nature commemorative coin will be struck in nominal values of EUR 10 and 20.
Finland / EUR 10 / Silver .500 / 10g / 28.5mm / Design: Kari Auvinen / Mintage: 10,000 (100 numbered).
The winning photograph was shot by experienced nature photographer Kari Auvinen. ”I felt it important to shoot something that touches the everyday lives of every person in Finland. The crow is a clever bird familiar to everyone in Finland. And the full moon is rarely as glorious as it was shining behind the lighthouse island of Harmaja, when I took the shot from the shore”, Auvinen says.
A female adult raven. Photo: Bombtime / CC BY-SA 3.0
The coin is stamped with the images from Auvinen’s photograph: the full moon over Harmaja and a crow gazing down on the world from its perch. The crow symbolises the modern Finnish character – an outwardly common but intelligent bird that reacts flexibly to new situations. As per the rules of the competition, the winning photograph was compiled from two shots.
The collector coin’s nominal value, design and specifications will be confirmed in a decree issued by the Ministry of Finance. The decree makes collector coins legal tender in Finland, but their importance as payment instruments is marginal since the sales price of collector coins is higher than their nominal value. You can read the collector coin decree in the Ministry of Justice’s Finlex Data Bank.
The maximum mintage of the EUR 10 silver Finnish Nature collector coin is 10,000, and 100 coins will be numbered. The number is stamped on the coin’s reverse, and the numbered coins will be mixed into the mintage at random. The mintage of the EUR 20 collector coins is 5,000, with 100 coins numbered and sold separately.
The silver coins manufactured in Mint of Finland’s Vantaa factory bear the Key Flag Symbol of Finnish Origin issued by the Association for Finnish Work.
For more details about this and other releases please visit the website of the Mint of Finland.
You can the winning shot of Kari Auvinen and many more of his photographs on his Facebook profile.
And for further information on the 2017 events in Finland please click here.