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For their coins Finland chose three projects, such as those used previously in the national coins.
Since 2007, all Finnish coins stamped designation of the country - «FI», and instead of letters, initials General Director of the Mint states mint mark.
1 - 50 euro cent, Finland
All cent coins depicts the Finnish heraldic lion - the emblem of Finland.
History of Finland is inseparably linked with Sweden. That's coat of arms has Swedish roots. The first coat of arms of Finland was granted in 1557 by the Swedish King Gustav Vasa to his son John, along with the title of Duke of Finland.
Around 1580 in the country there was a single coat of arms, refers to all the Swedish eastern possessions, including Finland and Karelia. So the tomb is decorated with the coat of arms of Gustav Vasa in Uppsala. It crowned shield with a golden crowned lion on a red field. The right front paw of a lion chained in armor and puts a sword (symbol of chivalry), hind legs lion trampling thrown scimitar (involvement in the general culture of Christian Europe in the fight against the Muslims). Red field strewn with silver roses - on the tomb of Gustav nine. Presumably, the lion is taken from the Swedish royal coat of arms and the gesture taken from the coat of arms of Northern Finland and the Karelian Duchy (because it is an ancient Nordic symbol of power and authority), where the right hand is depicted with a raised sword.
John III for reasons of prestige included in the royal coat of arms crown closed, and at the beginning of the XVII century the crown with a lion's head was removed, then the armor, too, and the tail of a lion appeared forked.
In the Russian Empire, Finland retained its coat of arms. In December 1917, the country gained independence, and approved in July 1919 constitution enshrined the existing version of the coat of arms. But already in 1920 the crown ceased crown shield. The modern form of the coat of arms was approved in 1978
Heraldic lion in Finland - a traditional symbol of the state. It is used in the design of the Finnish coins since Finland gained independence in 1917.
1 euro, Finland
The main motive of the coin artist Pertti Maykinen (Pertti Makinen) chose the image of two swans flying over the lake. This artist won the competition design of coins dedicated to the 80th anniversary of Finland's independence in 1997.
Whooper (lat Cygnus cygnus.) - a large family of duck bird weighing 7 to 10 kg (sometimes more). An elongated body, the length of the neck is approximately equal to the length of the torso. The legs are short, charged back. The plumage of a large amount of fluff. Beak lemon yellow with a black tip. The plumage is white. Young birds have a smoky-gray plumage with darker head. Pure white feathers Whooper becomes only the third year of life. Male and female in appearance do not differ from each other. Whooper swan neck holds directly, without bending it in the form of the letter «S», as the mute swan. Sam whooper swan, mute swan is also slightly smaller.
Whooper swans nest on the northern borders of Eurasia forests of Scandinavia and Scotland to Chukotka and Sakhalin. In the south, there are up to Lake Ladoga, Mongolia, northern Japan, the northern part of the Caspian Sea.
Hibernate fly north of the Mediterranean Sea, the Caspian Sea and in Central, South and South-East Asia. Only a few birds remain to winter on the ground nests. Usually do not fly for wintering whooper from Scandinavia, on the White Sea and Baltic Sea. Also remain to winter swans living in the freezing or part freezing waters of Eurasia.
Whooper swan got its name from the loud cries of the pipe, most often published in flight. When swimming, neck holds horizontal wings held tightly to the body. Typically, whooper swan, like all swans floats slowly and majestically, but if you pursue it, you hardly can even catch up on the boat. Taking off from water, a long run up, legs flailed in the water, gradually picking up speed and altitude. Klikun cautious bird, which rests on the wide water spaces, away from the coast.
2 euro, Finland
Flowers and cloudberry berries. This is an image created by Raimo Heino (Raimo Heino) designer for coin design competition, which was held in 1988.
Cloudberry (Latin Rubus chamaemorus.) - the kind of perennial herbaceous plants of raspberry. It grows in the northern latitudes around the globe. But in Finland it is the national pride, part of the coat of arms of some of the northern areas.
Cloudberry is a perennial herbaceous plant height of 10-25 cm with two sheets, one flower and creeping, rooting and woody rhizomes. Plant leaves shrunken and rounded. Flowers are single, are tychinkovye or a stamp, ie the cloudberry in nature is dioecious. Cloudberry flowers white, appearing in June. Ripe berries are usually yellow, juicy and flavorful.
cloudberry berries bright yellow, but almost transparent, the most structurally similar to raspberries. Color your it changes several times, unlike other berries that turn red as they mature, immature cloudberry dark red, then a little lighter, and finally, amber-yellow.
In pre-revolutionary Russia cloudberry, or, as it was also called "moss currant", it was well known. For years it supplied from Lapland to the king's table. From northern berries cooked jams, made brandy and liqueurs. And in Moscow restaurants were very popular kvass and fruit drinks made from its juice.
In Finland itself, this berry is very expensive and many Finns living in Southern and Central Finland, buy rare cloudberries.
