Finnish commemorative 2 euro coins 2011, The 200th anniversary of the Bank of Finland
Commemorative 2 euro coins from Finland
Description: The centre of the coin shows a Whooper Swan (the Finnish national bird). The swan's wing separates the years 1811 (at the bottom right) and 2011 (at the centre left). The letter V in the left armpit of the swan stands for the surname of the designer Hannu Veijalainen. At the bottom of the inner ring, the inscription FI and the mint mark are shown. The twelve stars of the European Union surround the design on the outer ring of the coin.
Reverse: left from the coin centre face value: 2, on the right inscription: EURO; in the background of the inscription a map of Europe; in the background of the map vertically six parallel lines ending on both sides with five-pointed stars (the reverse is common for all euro coins)
Issuing volume: 1,600,000 coins
Date of issue: 17 October 2011
Face value: 2 euro
Diameter: 25.75 mm
Thickness: 2.2 mm
Weight: 8.5 gr
Composition: BiAlloy (Nk/Ng), ring Cupronickel (75% copper - 25% nickel clad on nickel core), center Nickel brass (75% copper - 20% zinc - 5% nickel)
€2 Edge Inscription: The Finnish €2 coin edge inscription is 'SUOMI FINLAND', followed by three lion heads.
Mint Location: Rahapaja Oy, in Helsinki-Vantaa, Finland.
National Identification: Abbreviation: FI - Finland.
The motif of the commemorative coin for 2011 is the Bank of Finland’s 200th anniversary. In 1811, Emperor Alexander I of Russia decreed that an ‘Exchange, Lending and Deposit Office’ was to be established in Turku, Finland. It was Finland’s first bank and eventually became the Bank of Finland, which moved to Helsinki in 1819. The Bank began to operate as a central bank in the latter part of the 19th century, after Finland obtained its own monetary unit and commercial banks had been established in the country.
The commemorative coin, designed by the artist Hannu Veijalainen, depicts Finland’s national bird, the swan.
A total of 1.6 million new commemorative coins have been struck, and these circulate in banks and retail outlets along with the regular two-euro coins. Each euro area country is permitted to issue a two-euro commemorative coin once a year. Commemorative coins are legal tender in all euro area countries.
Bank of Finland
The Bank of Finland (Finnish: Suomen Pankki, Swedish: Finlands Bank) is the central bank of Finland. It is the fourth oldest central bank in the world.The Bank of Finland was established on 1 March in 1812 in the city of Turku by Alexander I of Russia. In 1819 it was relocated to Helsinki. The Bank created and regulated the Finnish Markka until Finland adopted the euro in 1999.
The Bank of Finland is Finland’s central bank and a member of the European System of Central Banks and of the Eurosystem. It is Finland's monetary authority, and is responsible for the country's currency supply and foreign exchange reserves.
The Bank of Finland is owned by the Republic of Finland and governed by the Finnish Parliament, through the Parliamentary Supervisory Council and the Board of the bank. The Board is responsible for the administration of the bank, and the Parliamentary Supervisory Council for supervising the administration and activities of the bank and for other statutory tasks. The bank is governed under the provisions of the Act on the Bank of Finland, passed in 1998.
The bank has branch offices in Kuopio, Tampere, and Oulu.