February 25, 2016 – Mint of Finland presented the ice hockey world champions with freshly minted Ice Hockey collector coins, released on 14 January in tribute to ice hockey. The collector coin is part of the coin series struck by Mint of Finland by decision of the Ministry of Finance to pay homage to the sports close to the hearts of Finnish people. The nominal value of the collector coins is confirmed as five euros in a decree of the Ministry of Finance.
Finland / 5 euros / 27.25mm / 9.8g / design: Nora Tapper / Mintage: 50,000 (UNC), 10,000 (proof).
Nine collector coins on sports
A total of nine collector coins paying tribute to different sports will be released in the Sports Coins series. The coin minted in honour of ice hockey is the fifth in the series. The remaining four coins in the series will be launched in 2016.
Part of the IIHF World Junior Championship tournament
Fans travelling to see the IIHF World Junior Championships had the unique opportunity of acquiring the freshly minted Ice Hockey collector coin from Mint of Finland’s sales stand in the Hartwall Arena before the start of the actual advance order period. According to Communications Director Henna Karjalainen of Mint of Finland, many fans also took advantage of this opportunity to purchase the ice hockey coin, packaged in an envelope bearing the tournament logo, as a memento or lucky coin. “It was great to see the tournament atmosphere in person and be able to follow the unbelievable journey and success of the Young Lions,” says Karjalainen.
UNC and proof quality coins for collectors
The maximum mintages of the collector coin will be 50,000 UNC-quality coins and 10,000 proof-quality coins. The coin has a diameter of 27.25 millimetres and weighs 9.8 grammes. The Sports Coins are designed by Nora Tapper.
Proof-quality, individually finished collector coins are packaged in a protective transparent casing set in a package bearing the IIHF World Junior Championships logo. The price of a proof-quality collector coin is EUR 22.
UNC-quality collector coins will be sold in paper coin envelopes bearing the tournament logo for EUR 10 each. The UNC-coins are also available in boxes of ten coins for EUR 62.
For more information on the Mint of Finland go to the company’s website.
Here you can learn more about the World Junior Championship 2016.