A symbol of equality and tolerance

Mint of Finland and the Ministry of Finance are planning to release in the spring a collector coin for equality and tolerance. The nominal value of the coin is EUR 20. The jury selected a piece by art student Katri Piri as the theme of the coin. As experts on the theme, the jury consulted the Ombudsman for Equality Pirkko Mäkinen as well as Frank Johansson, director of Amnesty International – Finnish Section.

Mint of Finland encourages all people, irrespective of age, gender or culture, to be boldly true to their own personalities and to appreciate diversity. A collector coin for tolerance will be issued in the spring 2012.

”As a government owned company, it is important for us to support tolerance in society. The Finnish collector coin institution promotes the transmission of values and messages that are important for Finns now and in the future," says Mint of Finland's communications director Henna Karjalainen.

The top three stood out

The Collectors’ Coin Committee established by the Ministry of Finance invited art schools from around Finland to design a collector coin depicting tolerance for the Ethical collector coins set.

A total of 32 drawings were entered in the competition from five different schools: Vocational Education Centre Sedu in Seinäjoki, Art School Maa in Helsinki, Satakunta University of Applied Sciences in Pori, Saimaa University of Applied Sciences in Imatra, and Lahti University of Applied Sciences.

The top three clearly stood out thanks to meticulous and skilful implementation. The competition awarded first prize and a shared third prize. The collector coin will be made on the basis of the winning piece, with minor technical adaptations if necessary.

The first prize of EUR 2,000 was awarded to Katri Piri from Lahti University of Applied Sciences. Her piece depicts human figures from various backgrounds around the world.

Third prize was shared by Jaakko Lahti from Saimaa University of Applied Sciences and Mira Östergard from Vocational Education Centre Sedu. They were both awarded EUR 750.

Ethical collector coins speak about Finnish ethics

The theme of the Ethical collector coin is universal humanity, which the coin is designed to promote. Unlike the other official collector coins, ethical collector coins always promote a non-historical cause.

Themes from previous years include Peace and Security (2009), Children and Creativity (2010) and the Protection of the Baltic Sea (2011).

Further information:

Yrjö Sotamaa
Emeritus Professor
yrjo.sotamaa(at)aalto.fi

Henna Karjalainen
Communications Director
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. In 2012, Mint of Finland will issue six new collector coins and two commemorative coins. To see how coins are produced, visit the 'About a Coin' exhibition at Heureka, the Finnish Science Centre. For further information about events in 2012, go to: www.mint.fi