Estonia · 150th anniversary of the founding of the Society of Estonian Literati

Issue date9 Mar 2022

Total mintage1,000,000

EU maximum1,000,000

Editions2

Edge letteringEESTI × 2, alternating upright/inverted, separated by dots

InscriptionEESTI KIRJAMEESTE SELTS / 2022 / KUI ME EI SAA SUUREKS RAHVAARVULT, PEAME SAAMA SUUREKS VAIMULT

DesignerRiho Luuse

mintSuomen Rahapaja OY, Vantaa, Finnland

Issue occasion

The commemorative coin marks the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Estonian Literary Society. The design shows an open book and the tip of a quill, surrounded by the inscription “EESTI KIRJAMEESTE SELTS”. The following sentence appears on the book page: “KUI ME EI SAA SUUREKS RAHVAARVULT, PEAME SAAMA SUUREKS VAIMULT” (“If we cannot be a great nation in numbers, we must be great in spirit”).

The design

The coin’s design shows an open book and the tip of a quill. Along the upper edge of the inner disc, the inscription “EESTI KIRJAMEESTE SELTS” and the year of issue “2022” are arranged in a semicircle. The book page bears the inscription “IF WE CANNOT BE GREAT IN TERMS OF POPULATION, WE MUST BE GREAT IN SPIRIT.” The twelve stars of the European flag are depicted on the outer ring of the coin.

Background on the topic

The Eesti Kirjameeste Selts was founded in 1872 in Tartu, which at the time belonged to the Russian Empire. Its foundation took place during the period of the Estonian national awakening. Although Estonian was spoken by the majority of the population and literacy was widespread, German and Russian long dominated administration, higher education and public cultural life. Estonian scholars, clergy, teachers and writers therefore sought to develop their own language as a language of literature and education.

The society promoted Estonian-language publications, supported authors and addressed questions of spelling and language usage. Its members also collected folk songs, tales, linguistic traditions and other ethnographic material. Such collections were intended to preserve orally transmitted knowledge and at the same time to create a basis for literature, linguistic research and historical awareness. Meetings and publications brought together Estonian intellectuals scattered across the country.

One of the society’s leading figures was the theologian, linguist and folklorist Jakob Hurt, its first president. He is credited with the motto depicted on the coin. Hurt believed that a numerically small nation could survive through education, cultural work and intellectual independence. Later, differing political and cultural views, including those between Hurt and the publicist Carl Robert Jakobson, led to internal conflicts. The society’s activities ended in 1893 amid increasingly restrictive imperial policies.

No historical figure is portrayed on the coin. The book and quill instead refer generally to writing, publishing and language cultivation. The anniversary provided an occasion to commemorate an early institution of organised Estonian cultural work. Its activities also represent the close connection between language, literature and the development of Estonian national consciousness in the 19th century.