Estonian euro coins feature a single design for all eight coins. This is a design by Lembit Lõhmus and features a silhouette map of

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

together with the word Eesti (Estonia) and twelve stars, symbolic of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

, surrounding the map. This was the winning design in a public vote of ten announced in December 2004. Estonian euro coins entered circulation on 1 January 2011. Estonia is the fifth of ten states that joined the EU in 2004, and the first ex-Soviet republic to join the

eurozone The euro area, commonly called the eurozone (EZ), is a Monetary union, currency union of 20 Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union (EU) that have adopted the euro (Euro sign, €) as their primary currency ...

History

Of the ten new EU member states, Estonia was the first to unveil its design. The country originally planned to adopt the euro on 1 January 2007; however, it did not formally apply when

Slovenia Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia, is a country in Central Europe. It borders Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the south and southeast, and a short (46.6 km) coastline within the Adriati ...

did, and officially changed its target date to 1 January 2008, and later, to 1 January 2011. On 12 May 2010, the European Commission announced that Estonia had met all criteria to join the eurozone. On 8 June 2010, the EU finance ministers agreed that Estonia would be able to join the euro on 1 January 2011. On 13 July 2010, Estonia received the final approval from the ECOFIN to adopt the euro as from 1 January 2011. On the same date of 13 July 2010, the exchange rate at which the kroon would be exchanged for the euro (€1 = 15.6466 krooni) was also announced. On 20 July 2010, mass production of Estonian euro coins began in the Mint of Finland. 2012 coins were produced by the Royal Dutch Mint, having won the production bid.

Estonian euro design

For images of the common side and a detailed description of the coins, see

euro coins There are eight euro coin denominations, ranging from one cent to two euro (the euro is divided into a hundred cents). The coins first came into use in 2002. They have a common Obverse and reverse, reverse, portraying a map of Europe, but each cou ...

. A design competition was first held in 2004 for the design of the Estonian

euro The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...

coins. 134 designs were submitted to the competition, and the 10 best designs were selected, which were then voted on by telephone by the Estonian people. The design features an outline map of Estonia and its islands: Saaremaa, Hiiumaa,

Muhu Muhu (also called Muhumaa in Estonian) is an island in the West Estonian archipelago of the Baltic Sea. With an area of , it is the third largest island belonging to Estonia, after Saaremaa and Hiiumaa. Together with neighbouring smaller i ...

, Vormsi,

Kihnu Kihnu is an island in the Baltic Sea. With an area of , it is the largest island in the Gulf of Riga and the seventh largest island of Estonia. With a length of and width of , the island's highest point is above sea level. Kihnu belongs to P ...

, the Pakri Islands, Naissaar and

Ruhnu Ruhnu (; ; ) is an Estonian island in the Gulf of Riga in the Baltic Sea. Its territory of is administratively part of Saare County, Saare ''maakond'' (county). Ruhnu lies geographically closer to the coast of Courland on the mainland of Latvia ...

; and the lake of Võrtsjärv.

Estonian National Symbols series

Circulating mintage quantities

* No coins were minted that year for that denomination

Mints

2011:

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

2012:

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

2015:

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

2016-2018:

Design controversy

Ethnic

Setos Setos (, , , ) are an indigenous Finnic peoples and linguistic minority that have historically lived in the borderlands between modern day Estonia and Russia. Setos have historically spoken the Seto language and been Orthodox Christians.Kalku ...

have protested the design of the coin, claiming that the outline of the map of Estonia does not include the former south eastern region of Estonia that constituted a part of the Seto homeland annexed by Stalin during the

occupation of the Baltic states The occupation of the Baltic states was a period of annexation of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania by the Soviet Union from 1940 until its Dissolution of the Soviet Union, dissolution in 1991. For a period of several years during World War II, Naz ...

. On the other hand, a Russian lawyer Sergei Seredenko claimed that the outline included Russian-controlled areas. The Russian embassy was prompted to issue a statement that the euro coins do indeed depict the current borders of the country's territory.

References

External links

European Central Bank – Estonia
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Estonian Euro Coins Euro coins by issuing country Currencies of Estonia

Euro The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...