A coin for the Finnish national readership

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of the author Juhani Aho (11.9.1861–8.8.1921) and The Ministry of Finance and Mint of Finland are celebrating one of the pioneers of Finnish literature with a commemorative coin.

Mint of Finland has its own connection to the writer as Aho was married to the painter Venny Soldan-Brofeldt, daughter of Mint's first director, August Soldan.

The commemorative coin suits every purse

Mint of Finland has now produced an exceptional matt BU-quality coin with an Ag500 mix, meaning that the coin is made of 50 per cent pure silver. The silver mix of the glassy proof collector coin is the traditional Ag925, which contains 92.5 per cent pure silver.

"By minting a series of matt Ag500 silver-content collector coins, we want to make sure that the cost to the consumer remains reasonable. The global price of silver has risen, but by moderating production costs, we can make sure that the collector coin is suitable for every purse," says Paul Gustafsson, Mint of Finland's CEO.

At Mint of Finland's online outlet store, the BU-quality collector coin costs just 39 euros and the proof coin costs 61 euros. You can buy the proof coin in a stylish, Iittala glass "Vitriini box" as an elegant decoration for your home for 70 euros.

A golden-age artist

Juhani Aho was a master of the psychological novel and wrote about the lives of Finnish people and Finnish nature in works that described everything from small, everyday life to historical events covering stages of development of the Finnish people. Aho's novel 'Juha' has been adapted twice for opera productions and four times for cinema.

Aho was also a newspaper editor and, with his co-ideologists, he founded 'Päivälehti' which went on to become Finland's most respected daily newspaper, 'Helsingin Sanomat'. Aho and Soldan-Brofeldt moved to Järvenpää in 1897 and the famous Tuusula artistic community was born as they attracted to the area other golden-age Finnish artists, such as Pekka Halonen and Jean Sibelius. A collector coin was minted in honour of Sibelius in 1999.

The Finnish President, Tarja Halonen, is the official patron of the 150th anniversary celebration of Juhani Aho.

Further information:

Henna Karjalainen
Communications and Marketing Manager
Mint of Finland Ltd.
+ 358 50 575 9197
henna.karjalainen(at)mint.fi

Mint of Finland Ltd. is the leading mint in the Eurozone. It is the sole owner of the German coin-blank manufacturer, Saxonia EuroCoin GmbH, and holds a 50 percent share in the Norwegian Det Norske Myntverket. Mint of Finland is dedicated to designing, marketing and minting coins. The company is owned by the Finnish state. Mint of Finland produces metallic currency, commemorative and collector coins, as well as coin sets. During 2011, Mint of Finland will issue six new collector coins and seven provincial coins. Finns are able to see how coins are produced at the ‘About a coin’ exhibition at Heureka, the Finnish Science Centre. For further information about the 2011 events, go to: www.mint.fi