• 2500 of the coins have been minted, and each coin will cost 124 euros and have a nominal value of 15 euros
• The coin will go on sale at 09.00 on 22 September in the 100kingitust online shop and at 12.00 in the Eesti Pank museum shop
• Eesti Pank will present the coin on 22 September at 14.10 at a conference at the Patarei museum to the victims of communism, Kalaranna 28 Tallinn, on resistance in Estonia between the summer war and the singing revolution. The conference will be held on national Resistance Day and will discuss the Forest Brothers and resistance and consider practical forms of resistance and its broader significance. Attendance is by invitation. The day will end with a concert of Forest Brothers songs by the band Untsakad from their third album. See here for more details.

Eesti Pank is issuing a silver collector coin on 22 September to commemorate the Forest Brothers. 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 coin depicts Forest Brothers hiding at the edge of the forest. The vertical pattern of the tree trunks creates a symbolic border between the occupied land and the free land of the Forest Brothers. The forest is a place for hiding and a place of separation. The light shining between the trees represents a memory of free Estonia and a hope that it will return.

Each coin will cost 124 euros and have a nominal value of 15 euros. In total 2500 coins have been minted by the Lithuanian Mint. The silver coin was designed by Kaupo Kangro.

The collector coin for the Forest Brothers is part of a series from Eesti Pank dedicated to Resistance that is intended 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 previously issued in 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. The Forest Brothers were not only soldiers with military training, but often they were ordinary Estonian people whose dream of seeing their country free again stayed alive even during the hardest times. Their story reminds us that freedom should not be taken for granted but must be nurtured and defended.

The coin was designed by Kaupo Kangro, whose main job is in architectural design, but who works on the side as a designer. He has previously entered several design competitions, including coin competitions at Eesti Pank. He has designed several silver coins and two-euro commemorative coins for Eesti Pank.

Sales information

• The coins will go on sale on 22 September at 09.00 in the 100kingitust online shop. The customer service for the store can be contacted from Monday to Friday 10.00-17.00 by telephone on +372 5551 5676 or by email at [email protected].
• The coins will be available from the Eesti Pank museum at Estonia pst 11, Tallinn from 22 September during its opening hours from Tuesdays to Fridays 12.00-17.00 and on Saturdays 11.00-16.00. The Eesti Pank museum shop can be contacted on 668 0650.

Further information:

The coin dedicated to the Forest Brothers is a collector coin. Collector coins are mostly made of precious metals and commemorate important events or people for the issuing country. Collector coins are only legal tender in the country of issue. They are not intended for circulation, but rather for collecting or as gifts, and their selling price usually exceeds their nominal value.

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