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CC 411 2021
2 euro coin
BU Main coin Bank issue
2 Euro BU
Estonia · Finno-Ugric peoples
Mintage988,000
Issue date16 Jun 2021
Edge letteringEESTI × 2, alternating upright/inverted, separated by dots
Market price€4.90
Issue occasion
The commemorative coin is dedicated to the Finno-Ugric peoples. The design, based on cave paintings at Lake Onega, depicts a hunter, a moose, a water bird and the sun as symbols of their cycle of life. The water bird is at the centre, represented in the art and folklore of all Finno-Ugric peoples; the inscriptions “EESTI”, “2021” and “FENNO-UGRIA” are also shown.
The design
The design of the national side of the coin is based on cave paintings at Lake Onega. The symbols for the hunter, elk, waterfowl and sun represent the symbolic cycle of life of the Finno-Ugric peoples. The central figure is the waterfowl, as it is represented in the art and folklore of all Finno-Ugric peoples. In the upper right, the name of the country, “EESTI”, followed by the year “2021”, is depicted in a semicircle. The inscription “FENNO-UGRIA” can be seen in the lower left.
The twelve stars of the European flag are depicted on the outer ring of the coin.
The twelve stars of the European flag are depicted on the outer ring of the coin.
Background on the topic
Finno-Ugric” primarily denotes a linguistic relationship, not a unified ethnic or political community. The languages concerned belong to the Uralic language family. They include Estonian, Finnish and Hungarian, as well as numerous minority languages of northeastern Europe and western Siberia, including Karelian, Komi, Mari, Udmurt, several Sami languages, and the languages of the Khanty and Mansi. The communities concerned differ considerably in religion, history and way of life.
For Estonia, this linguistic relationship has particular significance in terms of identity politics. Estonian belongs to the Finnic branch and is closely related to Finnish. Contact with other Uralic-speaking communities was cultivated from the 19th century onward by linguists, ethnographers and cultural associations. During Soviet rule, Finno-Ugric affiliation also provided a cultural frame of reference that extended beyond the borders of the Soviet Union.
After its dissolution, new forms of cooperation emerged. Since the 1990s, representatives of Finno-Ugric and other Uralic peoples have met at World Congresses. Among other things, these meetings address language education, media, cultural self-organization and the situation of smaller population groups. Many of their languages are under strong pressure to assimilate and are spoken by a declining number of people. In 2021, Tartu hosted the eighth World Congress of the Finno-Ugric Peoples. The coin issue thus took place in a contemporary Estonian context of international Finno-Ugric cooperation.
The source images referred to as “cave paintings” are, more precisely, prehistoric rock carvings, known as petroglyphs. They are located on the eastern shore of Lake Onega in the present-day Russian Republic of Karelia. The depictions provide insight into the conceptual worlds of Stone Age communities, although these cannot be directly equated with present-day peoples. Waterfowl also appear in various Uralic creation narratives: a bird frequently dives into a primeval sea and brings up earth, from which the land is formed. Such traditional motifs provide a cultural-historical link between archaeological images and later folklore.
For Estonia, this linguistic relationship has particular significance in terms of identity politics. Estonian belongs to the Finnic branch and is closely related to Finnish. Contact with other Uralic-speaking communities was cultivated from the 19th century onward by linguists, ethnographers and cultural associations. During Soviet rule, Finno-Ugric affiliation also provided a cultural frame of reference that extended beyond the borders of the Soviet Union.
After its dissolution, new forms of cooperation emerged. Since the 1990s, representatives of Finno-Ugric and other Uralic peoples have met at World Congresses. Among other things, these meetings address language education, media, cultural self-organization and the situation of smaller population groups. Many of their languages are under strong pressure to assimilate and are spoken by a declining number of people. In 2021, Tartu hosted the eighth World Congress of the Finno-Ugric Peoples. The coin issue thus took place in a contemporary Estonian context of international Finno-Ugric cooperation.
The source images referred to as “cave paintings” are, more precisely, prehistoric rock carvings, known as petroglyphs. They are located on the eastern shore of Lake Onega in the present-day Russian Republic of Karelia. The depictions provide insight into the conceptual worlds of Stone Age communities, although these cannot be directly equated with present-day peoples. Waterfowl also appear in various Uralic creation narratives: a bird frequently dives into a primeval sea and brings up earth, from which the land is formed. Such traditional motifs provide a cultural-historical link between archaeological images and later folklore.
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