• The coin will enter circulation through banks and shops on 9 March
• One million of the coins will be minted
• There will be 10,000 two-euro coin cards, which will sell for 10 euros
• The coin and coin card will go on sale at 13.00 on 9 March in the Omniva online shop
• Coins will be available from the Eesti Pank museum shop from 22 March

The new commemorative coin shows an open book with the words of the first president of the Society of Estonian Literati Jacob Hurt written on it: “Kui me ei saa suureks rahvaarvult, peame saama suureks vaimult”, meaning ‘If we cannot be a great nation in number, we must be great in spirit’, with the year 1872 that the Society of Estonian Literati was founded. The society was founded in Viljandi and then operated in Tartu, and it helped promote literature in Estonian and so indirectly raised the cultural level of the Estonian people. The coin was designed by Riho Luuse.

The new two-euro commemorative coins with the special design will enter circulation through banks and shops from 9 March and are valid as legal tender throughout the euro area.

A total of one million coins have been minted, of which 10,000 are BU (brilliant uncirculated) quality and are sold on a coin card. The coins were minted by the Mint of Finland.

The designer of the coin, Riho Luuse, is a professional designer whose ideas were also used for the two-euro coin dedicated to Paul Keres that was issued in 2016 and the gold and silver collector coins dedicated to Hanseatic Tallinn in 2017.

Sales of the coin

• Individual coins, coin rolls and coin cards are on sale in the Omniva online shop from 13.00 on 9 March
• Up to 20 coin cards and 20 rolls of coins containing 25 coins in a roll can be bought in one purchase. If 25 coins are ordered from the online shop, they will be delivered in a roll
• If the spread of Covid-19 permits, the coins will go on sale in the Eesti Pank museum shop on 22 March. Any coin cards that still remain unsold at that point will also go on sale.
• The coins and coin cards will not be sold by post offices
• The Eesti Pank museum shop can be contacted on 6680 650
• The Omniva customer service can be contacted by telephone on 661 6616 or by email at [email protected] on working days from 09.00-20.00, and at weekends and on national holidays from 09.00–15.00

What are commemorative coins?

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 to commemorate a particular significant national or European event or topic. The coins are all legal tender throughout the euro area, so they can be used for payments like any other euro coin.

Additional information:
Ingrid Schmuul
Communications Specialist
Eesti Pank
Tel: 668 0965, 5697 9146
Press enquiries: [email protected]