The Supervisory Board of Eesti Pank approved the design by Kaupo Kangro as the winner in the design competition for the silver collector coin dedicated to the Forest Brothers.

Eesti Pank is issuing a silver coin to commemorate the Forest Brothers in 2026 as part of the series of coins dedicated to Resistance. The Forest Brothers were men and women who put up armed resistance to the terror of the Soviet occupation forces to keep alive the people’s dream of a free Estonia.

The idea behind the series of 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. A collector coin dedicated to the Finnish Boys was issued to start the series, and a two-euro commemorative coin dedicated to veterans of the Estonian Defence Forces will be issued in 2027.

Thousands of fighters operated in the Estonian forests in the 1940s and 1950s, and their determination and commitment inspired whole generations. Their story reminds us that freedom should not be taken for granted but must be nurtured and defended. The Forest Brothers were not always soldiers who had fought at the front, as they were mostly ordinary Estonian people whose dream of a free country stayed alive even during the hardest times.

The silver collector coin will have a nominal value of 15 euros and 2500 will be minted.

Second place in the competition went to a design by Villu Järmut, and third place went to Moonika Mällo.

The winning design

Preparations will be made to mint the coin from the winning design from the design competition, and the design may be altered for technical reasons.

The prize for the winner of the design competition is 3000 euros, with the second placed design receiving 2000 euros, and the third placed 1000.

The programme for issuing coins for 2026

Suggestions are sent to an advisory committee that provides expert opinions for Eesti Pank, and its opinions are used by the management of Eesti Pank when they decide on which commemorative and collector coins to issue.

For further information:
Gerli Rauk
Communications officer
Eesti Pank
Tel: 668 0842
Press enquiries: [email protected]