Finland · 90 years of independence

Issue date3 Dec 2007

Total mintage2,000,000

EU maximum2,000,000

Editions4

Edge letteringSUOMI FINLAND + 3 lion heads

Inscription2007 / 1917 / FI

DesignerReijo Juhani Paavilainen

mintSuomen Rahapaja OY, Vantaa, Finnland

Issue occasion

The commemorative coin honours the 90th anniversary of Finland’s Declaration of Independence. The design shows nine rowers in a boat; the years 2007 and 1917 appear above and below it. The mintmark is shown on the left and the country designation “FI” on the right, while the outer ring bears the twelve stars of the European flag.

The design

The inner part of the coin depicts nine rowers in a boat. The years 2007 and 1917 are inscribed above and below the coin design, respectively. The mintmark appears on the left and the country designation “FI” on the right. The outer ring of the coin shows the twelve stars of the European flag.

Background on the topic

Finland was part of the Swedish Empire until 1809. After the Swedish-Russian War, it became part of the Russian Empire as a Grand Duchy. The country retained its own institutions and a certain degree of internal autonomy. Towards the end of the 19th century, however, the Russian government attempted to integrate Finland more closely into the empire. This policy, known as Russification, intensified the Finnish desire for political self-determination.

The Russian revolutions of 1917 paved the way for state independence. After the abdication of the Tsar, it was initially disputed who held the supreme authority previously exercised by the monarch. The Bolshevik seizure of power in Russia heightened the uncertainty. The Finnish Senate under Pehr Evind Svinhufvud presented a declaration of independence to Parliament at the beginning of December. Parliament adopted it on 6 December 1917; this date later became Finland’s national day.

International recognition was subsequently required for the new state. Soviet Russia recognised Finland’s independence at the turn of the year 1917/1918, followed by other states. However, the separation did not resolve the country’s internal conflicts. At the beginning of 1918, a civil war began between the “Reds”, who emerged mainly from the labour movement, and the bourgeois-conservative “Whites”. The war ended in May with the victory of the Whites and left deep political and social divisions. Finland subsequently developed into a parliamentary republic.

The coin design does not depict any particular historical person or specific place. Rather, the common movement of the figures can be understood as a symbol of cooperation and a jointly determined direction. Thus, the design refers not only to the act of founding the state, but also to the task of bringing different social groups together in an independent polity. The choice of the occasion was linked to Finland’s central national commemorative day and at the same time made the anniversary visible in everyday payment transactions in the euro area.