2 Euro commemorative coins Estonia

Estonia

2 Euro

C o m m e m o r a t i v e C o i n s

Estonia
The edge lettering of the Estonian 2‐euro‐commemorative coins is : (Estonia)
Image	Country		Date	Feature	Ref.	Volume
🔎		Estonia	02 Jan. 2012	10th anniversary of the Euro‐Currency	20001 20002 20005	2,000,000	•
	Description : To mark the tenth anniversary of the final adoption of the euro as cash, all 17 EU countries using the euro as their official currency issued a commemorative € 2 coin. There were five designs submitted, which could be voted for online. The result was announed on the 30th of June 2011: the winning design was created by Helmut Andexlinger and shows a globe in the middle, overlaid with the euro symbol. The importance of the euro in Europe and the world as a whole coupled with the fact that it has become a global player in the international monetary system over the last ten years, is illustrated by the euro symbol. According to the designer, the symbolic elements around the stylised globe represent the suggestion that the euro offers more opportunities for businesses and markets which in turn ensures economic stability by encouraging investment in this environment. The factory shape symbolises production, the cargo ship trade, all of which benefit the symbolic family of four with three homes by providing more quality jobs and stable consumer prices. The symbol of the Eurotower in Frankfurt/M. represents financial strength and the two wind turbines shows stimulation in innovative investments that this environment presents, whose central element is the euro. At the bottom of the coin are the years "2002 and "2012". National characteristics : At the top of the coin is the name of the issuing country "EESTI" (Estonia). The coin was minted without mint marks by the German mint Staatlichen Münze Berlin in Berlin.

🔎		Estonia	10 Dec. 2015	30th anniversary of the EU‐Flag	20001 20002 20005	350,000	•
	Description : From 1950, the Council of Europe had been working on the design of a flag for Europe. The proposal to adopt the emblem of the Paneuropa Union, founded by Richard Coudenhove‐Kalergi in 1922, was rejected because of its supposed Christian symbolism. In 1955 it was agreed that the European flag, also adopted by the European Community on 29th of June 1985, would be the European flag with the twelve (a number of twelve is considered a sign of perfection) golden stars in a circular (symbolising unity) arrangement on a blue background. To mark the 30th anniversary of the EU flag, all 19 EU countries which use the euro as their official currency issued a commemorative €2 coin. There were five designs to choose from which could be voted for online. The result was declared on 28th of May 2015. The coin design was created by Georgios Stamatopoulos, coin designer at the Bank of Greece, whose initials "ΓΣ" can be seen in the lower right‐hand corner. It shows twelve stylised persons in a circle around a European flag with the twelve euro stars. National characteristics : Above is the name of the issuing country "EESTI" (Estonia), followed by the dates "1985‐2015". The coin was minted without mint marks by the Lithuanian mint Lietuvos monetų kalykla in Vilnius.

🔎		Estonia	07 Jan. 2016	100th birthday of chess grandmaster Paul Keres	20001 20002 20005	500,000	•
	Description : Paul Keres (1916‐1975), the Estonian chess master, was awarded the title "International Grand Master" in 1950. Estonia's first national €2 commemorative coin, designed by Riho Luuse, shows him in profile, with two chess squares and four pieces ‐ (from left to right) pawn, king, knight and rook ‐ the latter three of which are both embossed in relief and (upside down) recessed as a "inside out" form. Top left of the coin in a semi circle is the name "PAUL KERES" together with the name of the issuing country "EESTI" (Estonia) and the year of issue "2016" below it. The coin was produced without mint marks by the Lithuanian mint Lietuvos monetų kalykla in Vilnius.

🔎		Estonia	26 Jun. 2017	Estonia's road to independence	20001 20002 20005	1,500,000	•
	Description : After the February Revolution in Russia in 1917, tsarist rule was also abolished in Estonia. On the 12th of April 1917 the Russian Provisional Government issued a decree on granting the autonomy of Estonia. After general, indirect elections, the Provisional Parliament of the Estonian Governorate (Ajutine Maanõukogu, unofficially called Maapäev) was constituted on the 14th of July 1917, with its seat in Tallinn. Shortly after the October Revolution in Petrograd, it declared itself the supreme authority in Estonia. Initally the members of parliament rejected the Bolsheviks' demand for the dissolution of parliament, however when the parliament was subsequently dissolved by force, the MPs went underground. The coin, designed by Jaan Meristo, shows bare branches on the left, symbolising the year 1917, and the twisted trunk of an oak tree representing Estonia's path to independence, and on the right, leaves and acorns of a common oak (oak leaves symbolising strength and longevity, normally part of the coat of arms of Estonia). On the left is the date "1917", below it "MAAPÄEV" (provisional state parliament), on the right the issuing state "EESTI" (Estonia) and the year of issue "2017". The coin was produced without mint marks by the Lithuanian mint Lietuvos monetų kalykla in Vilnius.

🔎		Estonia	31 Jan. 2018	Establishment of the states of Estonia and Latvia, Re‐establishment of the state of Lithuania Common Issue of the three Baltic States	20001 20002 20005	500,000	•
	Description : The Lithuanian designer Justas Petrulis' design was the winner in a public vote in all three Baltic states to design a joint issue to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the states. The designer symbolises the fate of the three countries as one plait ‐ interwoven by a common past, present and future. The heraldic symbols of the three states, their coats of arms, and a stylised "100" to mark the 100th anniversary of the founding of the state are represented. The coat of arms of Lithuania (left) shows a knight on a rearing horse with the cross of Lorraine on the shield, the small national coat of arms of Latvia (centre) shows a rising sun, a lion and a griffin, and the coat of arms of Estonia (right) shows three leopards. On the left is the name of the respective issuing country "EESTI" (Estonia), "LATVIJA" (Latvia) or "LIETUVA" (Lithuania) and on the right the year of issue "2018". The coin was produced without mint mark by the Lithuanian mint Lietuvos monetų kalykla in Vilnius.

🔎		Estonia	19 Feb. 2018	100 years Independence	20001 20002 20005	1,317,800	•
	Description : The coin, designed by Ionel Lehari and Meelis Opmann, features the logo of the centenary celebrations, in which both the number 18 and the number 100 are prominent. This symbolises the year when Estonia became independent and also reflects the past hundred years. The middle of the "1" and lower circle contain silhouettes of flying doves. At the bottom right in a semi circle is the text "SADA AASTAT EESTI VABARIIKI" (One hundred years of the Republic of Estonia), followed by the country name "EESTI" (Estonia) and "2018" being the year of issue. The quantity minted corresponds to the population of Estonia on 1 January 2017 and was produced without mint marks by the Lithuanian mint Lietuvos monetų kalykla in Vilnius.

🔎		Estonia	29 May 2019	150th anniversary of the first Estonian Song Festival	20001 20002 20005	1,000,000	•
	Description : In 2003, the Baltic Song Festival was recognised by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage within the programme of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. A pupil from Törva, Grete Lisette Gulbis designed the coin. It shows the faces of three singing children above curved staves with the first notes of the Estonian national anthem and below it a scarf with the pattern "XOXOXOXOXO" (which in net jargon means "hugs and kisses") ‐ inspired by rows of celebrants shouting for joy, wearing their national custumes and moving like sea waves. At the top of the coin is the date "2019" and underneath "EESTI" (Estonia), at the bottom is "LAULUPIDU" (song festival) "150". The coin was minted without mint marks by the Slovak mint Mincovňa Kremnica š.p. in Kremnica.

🔎		Estonia	19 Nov. 2019	100 year anniversary of the founding of the Estonian language University Tartu	20001 20002 20005	1,000,000	•
	Description : As one of the oldest universities in Northern and Eastern Europe, Academia Gustaviana was founded in 1632 by King Gustav II Adolf of Sweden in Tartu (then Dorpat), with Latin used as the teaching language. In 1802 it was re‐opened by Alexander I as the Imperial University of Dorpat, with German as the first teaching language and Russian from 1893. Since 1919 the University of Tartu became is the first Estonian‐language university. The coin, designed by Indrek Ilves, shows a stylised version of the university facade. At the top of the coin is the word "RAHVUSÜLIKOOL". (National University) and below it "100", at the bottom "UNIVERSITAS TARTUENSIS" (University of Tartu) and below it the year of foundation "1632", on the left hand side is "EESTI" (Estonia) and on the right hand side the year of issue "2019". The coin was minted without mint marks by the Lithuanian mint Lietuvos monetų kalykla in Vilnius.

🔎		Estonia	27 Jan. 2020	200th anniversary of the discovery of the Antarctic	20001 20002 20005	750,000	•
	Description : Fabian Gottlieb von Bellinghausen (1778‐1852), scion of the German‐Baltic noble family Bellinghausen, served in the Imperial Russian Navy. In 1819 he was commissioned to lead the first Russian expedition to the Southern Polar region, instigated by Tsar Alexander I. During the two‐year expedition, which he led as captain of the corvette Vostok, 29 new islands in the Pacific and Atlantic were discovered. Bellinghausen first sighted the ice shelf surrounding Antartic on the 28th of January 1820 he then circumnavigated and catalogued the "iced continent" for which he gained the reputation of being the discoverer of Antarctic. A marginal sea off western Antarctica is called Bellingshausen Sea in his honour. The coin designers Tiiu Pirsko and Mati Veermets depict the edge of the Antarctic ice shelf to the right of the bow of the three‐masted sailing ship flying the Russian naval flag. Towards the top left in a semi circle are the words "Fabian Gottlieb von Bellinghausen", at the bottom the reason for the issue "ANTARKTIKA" "200", on the top right are the words "EESTI" (Estonia) and the year of issue "2020". The coin was minted without mint marks by the Lithuanian mint Lietuvos monetų kalykla in Vilnius.

🔎		Estonia	01 Feb. 2020	100th anniversary of the Treaty of Tartu	20001 20002 20005	1,000,000	•
	Description : The coin, designed by Ivar Sakk, depicts a stylised tree with leaves, within which are woven letters which spell out the reason for the issue "TARTU RAHU" (Peace of Tartu), as being a symbol of the young state of Estonia. In 1918 Soviet Russia cancelled the Peace of Brest‐Litovsk and the Red Army started a military offensive to conquer the Baltic States. Estonia subsequently fought for state independence in the Estonian War of Independence. In the Tartu Peace Treaty of 1920, Soviet Russia renounced all rights it ever had over Estonia and legally recognised Estonia as an independent sovereign state and as well as the border between the two states. At the bottom left of the coin "EESTI" denotes the issuing country Estonia and to the right "02.02.2020" the date of the 100th anniversary. The coin was minted without mint marks by the Lithuanian mint Lietuvos monetų kalykla in Vilnius.

🔎		Estonia	16 Jun. 2021	Finno‐Ugric peoples	20002 20007 20008	1,000,000	•
	Description : In Europe, the Indo‐European languages dominate. As well as the isolated language Basque and the Semitic Maltese and Turkish spoken in Eastern Thrace, there is a second language family, the Finno‐Ugric languages. It includes Finnish, Estonian, Livonian (which is native to the Latvian Courland) and Hungarian. Sami, spoken in Lapland, also belongs to the Uralic languages. The ancestors of the Finno‐Ugric peoples came from Siberia east of the Urals. Around 1840, on granite rocks on the shores of Lake Onega in Karelia (called Äänisjärv in Estonian) Estonians discovered about 1,200 Neolithic petroglyphs ‐ about 6,000 years old ‐ which depict the symbolic life cycle of the Finno‐Ugric people. For example, a swan carries the sun across the sky. Waterfowl, moose and hunters form other motifs. In 1970, Lennart Meri ‐ President of Estonia from 1992 to 2001 ‐ made a documentary film entitled Waterfowl People about the Finno‐Ugric peoples and their ancient traditions. The sculptor Al Paldrok, who together with the graphic designer Madis Pöldsaar designed the coin which used the swan as the central motif. in 1984 as part of a scientific expedition they made tracings of the symbols depicted on the coin (using a process called brass rubbing which involves rubbing of the surface structure onto a laid paper). On the day the coin was issued, the World Congress of Finno‐Ugric and Sami Peoples ‐ held every four years alternately in Russia, Hungary, Finland or Estonia ‐ was opened in Tartu. At the bottom left is the reason for the issue, "FENNO‐UGRIA" and at the top right, the country and year of issue "EESTI 2021". The coin was produced by the Lithuanian mint Lietuvos monetų kalykla in Vilnius.

🔎		Estonia	20 Oct. 2021	The Wolf 1st coin of the national symbols of Estonia series	20002 20007 20008	1,000,000	•
	Description : The wolf is a symbol of wild and intact nature. It has dominated Estonian forests and swamps since time immemorial. With its distinctive social and territorial behaviour, it courageously defends its territory and protects and respects its pack, the family unit. He is a survival artist who appreciates seclusion and has charisma. These qualities qualify it as a symbol for Estonia and its inhabitants; thus, the Eurasian wolf was chosen as Estonia's national animal in 2018. A first coin design dedicated to the wolf, however, evoked associations with the Turkish right‐wing extremist Grey Wolves. A tip from a coin forum that had realised the association then led to the present modified design by Maria Meos. It shows a howling wolf now turned to the left on a tree trunk, in front of the silhouette of a spruce forest and under a starry sky. At the top of the coin is "CANIS LUPUS", the Latin scientific name of the wolf, on the left is the country of issue, "EESTI", and on the right the year of issue, "2021". The coin was minted by the Lithuanian mint Lietuvos monetų kalykla in Vilnius.

🔎		Estonia	09 Mar. 2022	150th anniversary of the Society of Estonian Literati	20003 20005	1,000,000	•
	Work in progress

🔎		Estonia	01 Jul. 2022	35th anniversary of the Erasmus Program	20003 20005 20009	1,000,000	•
	Description : ERASMUS is a backronym for EuRopean Community Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students. The ERASMUS exchange programme is aimed at EU citizens who have been studying at a university for at least one year and supports a three to twelve‐month stay abroad at a university within the EU, or an internship. In addition, there are master's and doctoral programmes, programmes for young entrepreneurs, for school education, vocational training and adult education. Internships as well as professional development measures are financially supported and language courses abroad are also made possible for working people. The backronym refers to the Dutch philosopher and theologian Erasmus of Rotterdam (∼1466‐1536), described as "the crowning glory of the Christian humanists", depicted after a painting by Hans Holbein the Younger created in 1523. The French coin designer Joaquin Jimenez, whose initials "J.J." appear next to Erasmus' pen, has designed as a background a network of connecting lines between the twelve stars arranged in a circle and symbolising Europe, which is intended to represent the manifold intellectual and human exchanges between European students. By relieving some partial areas between the connecting lines, the numbers 3 and 5 emerge, referring to the 35th anniversary of the programme. In a block of three to four lines of lettering arranged in a quarter circle at the bottom right, the commemorative period is written as "1987-2022" (the last number also designating the year of issue) below the occasion of issue, followed by the name of the issuing state, if this does not consist of an abbreviation placed in the centre of the motif. National characteristics : The quarter circle at the bottom right has four lines; below the commemorative period, the issue occasion "ERASMUSE PROGRAMME" (Erasmus Programme in Estonian) is written in two lines, below which is the issuing country "EESTI" (Estonia). The coin was produced by the Lithuanian mint Lietuvos monetų kalykla in Vilnius. The coin belongs to those with the more structured background.

🔎		Estonia	08 Jul. 2022	Slava Ukraini	20003 20005	2,040,000	•
	Work in progress

🔎		Estonia	12 May 2023	The Barn Swallow 2nd coin of the national symbols of Estonia series	20003 20005 20009	1,000,000	•
	Description : The barn swallow, Estonia's national bird, has become rarer in Estonia in recent decades and the commemorative coin is intended to recall its symbolic importance for Estonia's traditional culture and nature. As a classic cultural follower, it lives in rural habitats close to humans. Living in permanent pair bonds, barn swallows build open, shell‐shaped nests of mud clods and straw on a masonry ledge or beams on the wall in barns, stables or other open indoor spaces to raise their young. In earlier centuries, they often flew in and out through the openings in the gable, through which the smoke from the hearth fire also escaped ‐ this is how they got the name barn swallows. As they are excellent flyers, a window in the tilted position is sufficient for them to leave the building. The nests are used again and again. There, the female lays four to five eggs two to three times a year, which she incubates for 14 to 17 days. Both parents feed the young birds for three weeks after hatching. Barn swallows hunt all kinds of flying insects. Between mid‐September and mid‐October, European barn swallows begin their migration to their wintering grounds in Central and South Africa, from where they return to their Central European breeding grounds between the end of March and mid‐May. The coin designer Kaupo Kangro has depicted a barn swallow in flight in front of a pair of swallows perched on a wire. Above and to the right is the Latin name of the species "HIRUNDO RUSTICA" in the form of an arc. Below, the state of issue "EESTI" (Estonia) and the year of issue "2023" are mentioned in two lines. The coin was produced at the Finnish mint Suomen Rahapaja OY in Vantaa.

		Estonia	21 May 2024	The Cornflower 3rd coin of the national symbols of Estonia series	20003	1,000,000	•
	Work in progress

References :
20001	Images taken with authorisation by the ECB ‐ Mail dated 20.Feb.2020 © "European Central Bank"	20002	Data mirrored from Wikipedia Page "2_euro_commemorative_coins" with friendly support of the guardians of that page.
20003	Images taken with authorisation by H....... Hamburg	20004	Coloured version of this Commemorative Coin in circulation EU‐legal‐technical specifications do not recongnise colour prints. The EU nevertheless tolerates them, as their numbers are very small and they are sold in special packs and therefor are very unlikely to be used as currency.
20005	enlarged Images taken with authorisation by Gerd Seyffert © "Gerd Seyffert 2021"	20006	Not Applicable
20007	Images taken by Münzen Kreuzberg © "Münzen Kreuzberg 2021"	20008	enlarged Images taken by Münzen Kreuzberg © "Münzen Kreuzberg 2021"
20009	Text with kind permission by Gerd Seyffert © "Gerd Seyffert 2023"	20010	Not Applicable