Coins can also be Designer Items

The Kaj Franck and Industrial Art collector coin will open Mint of Finland’s collector coin programme at the World Money Fair in Berlin between September 28 and 30, 2011. The themes for the other 2011 collector coins will also be announced at the fair.

Coins are Small Design Sculptures

As many collector coins have been designed by sculptors, they can be considered miniature sculptures. Few of us think of the contents of our wallet’s coin pocket as designer items. Dedicated coin designers play an essential part in creating these everyday designer items.

Many features of good design apply to coins. They are practical, aesthetically captivating, inconspicuous, detailed, long-lived and environmentally friendly.

The Kaj Franck and Industrial Art Collector Coin pays a Tribute to Finnish Design

Mint of Finland has issued the Kaj Franck and Industrial Art collector coin in commemoration of the master of design. ”We are overjoyed and honoured to issue the Kaj Franck and Industrial Art collector coin. Kaj Franck has certainly moved all Finns. We hope that a collector coin in honour of his life’s work will delight both collectors and those who have received the coin as a gift,” says Mint of Finland’s CEO Paul Gustafsson.

The Kaj Franck and Industrial Art collector coin was designed by sculptor Reijo Paavilainen whose design, ”Muotoon piirtyneet” (Drawn in Shape), was the winning entry in the design competition for the collector coin. The silver collector coin has a nominal value of 10 euros.

Further information:

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

Erkki Vainio
Head Designer
The Mint of Finland Ltd
+358 40 525 8981
erkki.vainio(at)mint.fi

Mint of Finland is the leading company in its field in Scandinavia and the Baltic region. Mint of Finland is dedicated to designing, marketing and minting coins. The company is owned by the Finnish state. It encompasses two business units: Circulation Coins and Collector Items. Mint of Finland produces metal circulation coins, collector and special coins, coins sets, medals, badges of honour and jewellery. The group employs some 133 people and exports to nearly 40 countries. The year 2010 marks the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Mint by the order of Tsar Alexander II. During the jubilee year, Mint of Finland will issue five new collector coins. In April, it will open an online boutique, and in October, Finns can discover how coins are minted at an exhibition at the Finnish Science Centre Heureka. For further details about the jubilee year events, see our website at www.suomenrahapaja.fi