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 together with the word Eesti (Estonia) and twelve stars, symbolic of the European Union, 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 was the fifth of ten states that joined the EU in 2004, and the first ex-Soviet republic to join the eurozone.

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 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.

A design competition was first held in 2004 for the design of the Estonian euro 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, Vormsi, Kihnu, the Pakri Islands, Naissaar and Ruhnu; and the lake of Võrtsjärv.

Circulating mintage quantities Face value €0.01 €0.02 €0.05 €0.10 €0.20 €0.50 €1.00 €2.00 2011 32,000,000 30,000,000 30,000,000 30,000,000 25,000,000 20,000,000 16,000,000 11,000,000 2012 25,000,000 25,000,000 2013 2014 2015 14,000,000 17,000,000 2016 s s s s s s s s 2017 29,000,000 9,000,000 4,550,000 3,250,000 2018 500,000 8,500,000 4,500,000 500,000 4,000,000 500,000 500,000 500,000 2019 10,000,000 2020 2,000,000 1,500,000 2021 8,000,000 2,000,000 2022 10,000,000 10,000,000 4,200,000 2,800,000 s s s s 2023 5,600,000 4,200,000 4,890,000 1,000,000 2024 — No coins were minted that year for that denomination s Small quantities minted for sets only

Mints 2011: Finland 2012: Netherlands 2015: Lithuania 2016-2018: Finland

€2 commemorative coins

Year Subject Volume Note 2012 10 years of Euro Coins and Banknotes 2,000,000 commonly issued coin 2015 30 years of the Flag of Europe 350,000 commonly issued coin 2016 100 years since the birth of Paul Keres 500,000 2017 Estonia's road to independence 1,500,000 2018 100 years since independence 500,000 joint issue with Latvia and Lithuania 2018 100 years since independence 1,317,800 2019 150th anniversary of the first Estonian Song Festival 1,000,000 2019 100 years since the foundation of the Estonian language University of Tartu 1,000,000 2020 200 years since the discovery of Antarctica 750,000 2020 100th anniversary of the Treaty of Tartu 1,000,000 2021 The Finno-Ugric peoples 1,000,000 2022 150 years since the founding of the Society of Estonian Literati 1,000,000 2022 Ukraine and Freedom 2,040,000 2022 35 years of the Erasmus Programme 1,000,000 commonly issued coin 2025 500 years of books in Estonian 850,000 2026 Sipsik 1,000,000

Estonian National Symbols series Year Number Design Volume 2021 1 Wolf, the national animal of Estonia 1,000,000 2023 2 Barn swallow, the national bird of Estonia 1,000,000 2024 3 Cornflower, the national flower of Estonia 1,000,000

Other commemorative coins (collectors' coins)

Controversy

Ethnic Setos 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. 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.

See also Adoption of the euro in Estonia

References

External links

European Central Bank – Estonia