The following is a press release from the Finland MintOn 30 January 2015, Mint of Finland plans to release a collector coin in honour of the 150th anniversary of composer Jean Sibelius' birth. Commemorative Jean Sibelius coins will be struck in silver, with a nominal value of EUR 10, and in gold with a nominal value of EUR 100. The silver Jean Sibelius coins are the first Finnish collector coins to be granted the Key Flag label of Finnish origin.
Mint of Finland will celebrate the 150th anniversary year of Sibelius by minting a collector coin slated for release at the international World Money Fair in Berlin on 30 January 2015.
The silver Sibelius coin will be the first Finnish collector coin to be granted the Key Flag label of Finnish origin. The Association for Finnish Work has granted the Key Flag label to all silver collector coins produced by Mint of Finland. Products manufactured in Finland are eligible to bear the Key Flag.
"Mint of Finland mints all Finnish collector coins at its factory in Vantaa. We are very glad that the Association for Finnish Work has acknowledged Finnish collector coin production with the Key Flag issued to silver collector coins. Sibelius is of huge importance to the Finnish people, so it is fantastic that it is his coin that will bear the first Key Flags," says Mint of Finland CEO Paul Gustafsson.
The collector coin being minted is the second to be released in honour of Sibelius. The first commemorative Sibelius coin was struck in 1999. Before Sibelius, only President Kekkonen and artist Tove Jansson had received two commemorative coins.
The collector coin will bear the landscape of Ainola and the composer's favoured instrument
The design of Nora Tapper depicts the starry sky of Ainola and a copse of pine trees, among which Sibelius was captured in many a photograph. The reverse bears the neck of a violin, the composer's favoured instrument.
"My idea was that complete silence surrounds the composer staring at the night sky. The composition born in the stillness then comes to life with the violin depicted on the reverse," says artist Nora Tapper.
The collector coin's design represents the Collector Coin Committee's proposal to the Ministry of Finance, and the actual coin's details may change.
The nominal value of the silver collector coins will be EUR 10, and 150 of the coins will be numbered. The numbered silver coins will be mixed into the total mintage of 10,000 at random. The collector coins will be made of Ag500/1000 silver, with a diameter of 28.5 millimetres and weight of 10 grams.
The nominal value of golden Jean Sibelius collector coins will be EUR 100, and 50 coins will be numbered. The total mintage of the gold collector coins will be 5,000, and the coins will be made of Au917/1000 gold. The gold coins will have a diameter of 22 millimetres and weigh 5.65 grams.
From the release date of 30 January 2015, the collector coins will be available from Mint of Finland's online shop and retailers. Advance orders for the collector coins will be accepted by the Mint of Finland online shop from 7 January 2015. The retail price of silver Jean Sibelius collector coins will be EUR 38. Golden Jean Sibelius collector coins will be priced at EUR 440 and numbered gold coins at EUR 500.
Posted 12/08/2014 12:01 pm
