Eesti Pank will launch two new series of collector coins in 2025. A silver coin for the Finnish Boys will be the first in the series of collector coins dedicated to Resistance, and the silver coin for Lilli Suburg will start the series of coins for Outstanding Estonian Women.

The Eesti Pank Executive Board has decided that the central bank will issue three collector coins in 2025 and one two-euro commemorative coin with a special design. The silver coins dedicated to the Finnish Boys and Lilli Suburg will be the first in new series of collector coins. A third silver coin will be issued to mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of statesman Otto Strandman, and there will be a two-euro coin with a special design to mark 500 years since the first text was printed in the Estonian language.

The idea behind the series of collector coins dedicated to Resistance is to recognise activities and groups that in one way or another helped resist the occupation of Estonia and stood up for an independent and free Estonia. The series of coins will be launched with a silver coin for the Finnish Boys.

The Finnish Boys were Estonians who volunteered to fight for Finland and fought in the Winter War and the Continuation War to resist the attempted occupation by the Soviet Union. An estimated 3500 Estonians fought for Finland. Some of the Finnish Boys also fought against the Soviet Union in Estonia in 1944, giving hope that Estonia would regain its independence.

The idea behind the series of collector coins dedicated to Outstanding Estonian Women is to highlight better those women who have had a major influence on the development of society. In preparing the series of coins, the central bank took advice from experts who have studied feminist movements in Estonia and the history of outstanding Estonian women. The series of coins will be launched with a silver coin dedicated to Lilli Suburg.

Lilli Suburg was involved in the Estonian awakening and was a pioneer for the feminist movement. She was the first to speak and act publicly in favour of rights for women, and her ideas and efforts were quite revolutionary in her time. Suburg founded and was editor-in-chief of Linda, the first journal in Estonia aimed at women. The journal discussed the unequal position of women in society and looked for ways to improve it, encouraging women to seek an education and attempting to broaden their horizons, while giving them inspiration and an example to follow. Suburg founded the first private school for girls and used innovative teaching methods to awaken the interest and curiosity of her pupils.

It has not yet been decided what the next coins in the series for Resistance and Outstanding Estonian Women will be. A series of collector coins usually consists of at least three coins that focus on the same theme. The Executive Board of Eesti Pank will decide at the end of 2024 what collector coins the central bank will issue in 2026.

BACKGROUND

A series of collector coins usually consists of at least three coins that are dedicated to the same theme. Eesti Pank has issued various series of collector coins, dedicated for example to the Estonian athletes at the Olympic Games, and to the 150th anniversary of the births of Estonian statesman and leading figures in society. The central bank has also issued series dedicated to the national animal, national bird and national flower of Estonia, and it issued a two-euro coin with a special design in 2024 dedicated to the cornflower. A gold coin and a silver coin dedicated to the city of Tartu will be issued in 2024 as the final coins in a series dedicated to the Hanseatic towns of Estonia.

The Executive Board of Eesti Pank will confirm the programme of collector coins for 2026 at the end of 2024. The programmes have to be decided so far in advance because it takes a long time to produce the coins. A design competition has to be held to find the design for the coin, and after that a procurement is run to find a mint that will make it. Only then can production begin, but the preparations for that also take time.

Suggestions for minting collector and commemorative coins are welcome from everyone, and can be sent through the Eesti Pank website. Suggestions for coins to be minted in 2026 can be sent until the end of August 2024.

All the suggestions are considered by an advisory committee invited by Eesti Pank, and their expert opinions and recommendations are used as the basis for the Executive Board of Eesti Pank to decide which coins to mint. The Executive Board also consults the Supervisory Board of the central bank before taking any decision.

Collector coins are minted from precious metals to celebrate historical people and events. They are not intended for circulation and they are only legal tender in the country that issued them. The selling price of collector coins made of precious metals usually exceeds their nominal value.

Commemorative coins are two-euro coins that are released into circulation, and that have a special commemorative design on the national side in place of the usual national design. They are intended to commemorate important national or European events or themes.

For further information:
Viljar Rääsk
Head of Communications
Eesti Pank
Tel: 5275 055