Eesti Pank is announcing competitions to design a two-euro commemorative coin dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Estonia, and a collector coin for the Estonian delegation and athletes going to the XXIII Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang. The coins will be issued at the start of 2018 and both individuals and groups of designers are welcome to participate in the design competition.

The date 24 February 2018 marks the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Estonia, and Eesti Pank is issuing a two-euro circulating coin with a special design in honour of this. The design of the common side of the coin is unchanged. The coin is intended to symbolise the people of Estonia, and so 1,317,800 coins will be minted to match the population of Estonia on 1 January 2017 according to data from Statistics Estonia.

“The Republic of Estonia was established almost a century ago, but unfortunately our statehood did not last long at that time and we were not able to achieve a full century of freedom. Estonia regained its independence a little over 25 years ago, and we have been able to live that long as a free people in a free country. It is only a short time, but it distinctly shows the strength of the Estonians as a small nation. Each and every person is important for a small nation and so the two-euro coin issued to celebrate the centenary of our Republic symbolises all of us, with a coin for every person in Estonia”, said the Governor of Eesti Pank, Ardo Hansson. “I am very glad that we can announce this competition in advance of the 99th anniversary of our Republic”, he added.

Eesti Pank has a long tradition of issuing collector coins for the Olympics, going back to 1992. In 2018 the XXIII Winter Olympic Games will be held in Pyeongchang in South Korea and Eesti Pank will be issuing a silver collector coin with a nominal value of 10 euros in honour of the delegation and athletes representing Estonia at the Olympic games. The elements that must be included in the design are the national great coat of arms, the words “Eesti Vabariik” and the year 2018 on the obverse side, and the nominal value with the euro symbol (10€) and the logo of the Estonian Olympic Committee on the reverse. The design of the coin may not use any symbols that belong to the International Olympic Committee or the organising committee for the Olympic games in Pyeongchang. In all, 2000 of the coins will be minted.

Rules and regulations for the competition to design a two-euro commemorative coin dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Estonia.

Rules and regulations for the design competition for the collector coin for the Estonian delegation and athletes to the XXIII Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang.

The deadline for the submission of correctly formatted designs for both the commemorative coin and the collector coin is 10 March 2017 at 12.00 midday. Designs should be brought to Eesti Pank by the deadline or sent to: Mündižürii, Eesti Pank, Estonia pst 13, 15095 Tallinn.

Participants in the design competition can submit more than one design for each coin. Eesti Pank will publish the results of the design competition for the silver collector coin on 10 April 2017 at the latest, and for the two-euro commemorative coin by 17 April. Once the coin is released, the winning designer of each coin will receive a prize of 2000 euros.

Background Information

• A design competition for a two-euro commemorative coin dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Baltic states is also running from 31 January to 6 March. For more details see the Eesti Pank website.
• Eesti Pank is happy to receive suggestions for collector coins and commemorative coins. The bank passes all the suggestions it receives by post or email or through its website to the advisory committee for analysis and expert opinion. The proposals of the advisory committee are used by the management of Eesti Pank when they decide on which commemorative and collector coins to issue.
• The committee is chaired by Mart Laar, and its members are Aino Lepik von Wirén, Piret Õunapuu, Ivar Leimus, Raul Rebane, Toomas Kiho and Lauri Vahtre.
• More information on the commemorative coins issued by Eesti Pank. 

Additional information:
Piret Luhakooder
Cash and Infrastructure Department
Tel: +372 668 0791
Email: [email protected] 

​Ingrid Mitt
Public Relations Office
Tel: +372 668 0965
Email: [email protected]
Press enquiries: [email protected]