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

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

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

, 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 eurozone (EZ), is a currency union of 19 member states of the European Union (EU) that have adopted the euro ( €) as their primary currency and sole legal tender, and have thus fully implemented EMU polici ...

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 ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

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 The Mint of Finland ( fi, Suomen Rahapaja, sv, Myntverket i Finland) is the national mint of Finland. It was established by Alexander II of Russia in 1860 as the markka became the official currency of the Grand Duchy of Finland. The mint was first ...

. 2012 coins were produced by the

Royal Dutch Mint The Royal Dutch Mint (''Koninklijke Nederlandse Munt'', abbreviated ''KNM'') based in Houten, the Netherlands, is a company owned by Heylen Group. It was established and previously owned by the Dutch state. History On 17 September 1806, when The ...

, 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 euros (the euro is divided into a hundred cents). The coins first came into use in 2002. They have a common reverse, portraying a map of Europe, but each country in the eurozone ...

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

euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...

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 Saaremaa is the largest island in Estonia, measuring . The main island of Saare County, it is located in the Baltic Sea, south of Hiiumaa island and west of Muhu island, and belongs to the West Estonian Archipelago. The capital of the isla ...

Hiiumaa Hiiumaa (, ) is the second largest island in Estonia and is part of the West Estonian archipelago, in the Baltic Sea. It has an area of 989 km2 and is 22 km from the Estonian mainland. Its largest town is Kärdla. It is located within ...

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 is ...

Vormsi Vormsi, also Ormsö ( sv, Ormsö, german: Worms) is the fourth-largest island of Estonia. It is located between Hiiumaa and the mainland and has a total area of . It is part of Vormsi Parish, a rural municipality. Etymology Ormsö in Swedish ...

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. The length of the island is and width , the highest point is at above sea level. The island belongs ...

, the

Pakri Islands , image_name = , image_caption = , image_size = , map_image = Pakri location map.svg , map_caption = , native_name = Pakri saared , native_name_link = , sobriquet = , location = Baltic Sea , ...

, Naissaar and

Ruhnu Ruhnu ( sv, Runö; german: Runö; lv, Roņu sala) is an Estonian island in the Gulf of Riga in the Baltic Sea. It is administratively part of Saare County but is geographically closer to the Latvian mainland. At , it has currently fewer than 10 ...

; and the lake of Võrtsjärv.

Circulating mintage quantities

* No coins were minted that year for that denomination

Mints

2011:

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

2012:

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

2015: Lithuania
2016-2018:

Design controversy

Ethnic

Setos Setos ( seto, setokõsõq, , et, setukesed, ) 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 ...

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.

References

External links

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

Euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...