Please note: The coin card can also be purchased from the Eesti Pank museum shop from 26 July.

On Friday at 13:00, Eesti Pank started selling the coin card featuring the two-euro coin dedicated to Ukraine and freedom, and will give the income from sales of them to the Ukrainian central bank. The coin was designed by Daria Titova, a young Ukrainian refugee from the war who is studying at the Estonian Academy of Arts. 

The author of the coin Titova said that participation in the coin design competition helped her cope with the feeling of helplessness. “I felt bad and guilty because I wake up with sunshine, while many Ukrainians wake up at the sound of missiles and bombs. To express this feeling, I drew a girl protecting a bird in her hand,” said Daria Titova.

The coin card costs 18 euros. In the Omniva online shop it is possible to purchase up to 50 coin cards at a time, and in total 40,000 coin cards are on sale. Eesti Pank will announce how much income from the sales of the coin cards will go to the Ukrainian central bank once the number of coin cards sold is known, and tax and the cost of the sales channels have been deducted. Eesti Pank is prepared to increase the initial production if demand should prove stronger.

The two-euro coin dedicated to Ukraine and freedom features a girl as a symbol of tenderness, protecting a bird in her hand. The design also features an ear of wheat. The coin was designed by Daria Titova, who is originally from Kharkiv and studies at the Estonian Academy of Arts. The coin card was designed by Vladimir Taiger, who was also an advisor for the design of the coin.

The coin card goes on sale on 8 July, while the coins with a special design will enter into broader circulation at the end of this year. In total two million two-euro coins will be issued. Eesti Pank chose this two-step approach to support Ukraine, which is fighting for its freedom, as fast as possible.

Eesti Pank started to prepare for the issue of the coin in April. It normally takes 18 months to create a two-euro coin with a special design, but the Ukrainian coin cards were made in four months. The Estonian Academy of Arts, where Ukrainian art students could continue their studies this spring, played a major role, organising a design competition among them, which Daria Titova won. At the beginning of May, the Supervisory Board of the central bank approved the design and decided also to use the text Slava Ukraini on the coin to symbolise the independence and resistance of Ukraine. After that, the design of the coin needed to be approved by the European Commission and the EU member states. At the same time, Eesti Pank prepared for the production of the coin cards and two-euro coins. The coins were minted in Slovakia and the coin cards printed in Poland.

To support Ukraine, Omniva will not charge its usual handling free and the coin cards can be purchased online without the handling fee. Since the 40,000 coin cards from Poland will be delivered in several batches, the first 10,000 coin cards will arrive earlier and the delivery times of the rest of the cards will be slightly longer. Eesti Pank kindly asks for understanding.

• Omniva e-store

Additional information:
Viljar Rääsk
Head of Communications
Eesti Pank
+372 527 5055
Press enquiries: [email protected]