Finland's official entry for the Europa Star Programme for 2016 has just been released and is now available on pre-order from the Mint of Finland, and should be more widely available by month's end.
Europa Star Logo for the European Silver Programme
The Europa Star Program, also known as the Eurostar or European Silver Programme, is a voluntary numismatic program for European nation states where they release precious metal collector's coins based on a shared theme. The program has been running since 2004.
2016 marks the beginning of a new theme cycle for the Europa Star Program. The overarching theme for the next several years will be: “The Ages of Europe”. The specific theme for 2016 is Modernism or Modern 20th century.
To celebrate this theme the Mint of Finland tasked designer Aimo Katajamäki to design a coin featuring renowned Finnish architect, painter and sculptor Alvar Aalto.
The result is a coin that features a drawing of Alvar Aalto superimposed by a pattern evoking the shape of his famous Savoy Vase on the reverse. The obverse of the 33mm silver coin features the Europa star logo with a depiction of the Finnish national emblem at the center. This numismatic collector's coin has a face value of 10.
The proof quality coin is struck from silver and will have limited mintage on 10 000(ten thousand) coins total. One hundred of these will be numbered on the reverse. The special numbered coins will be sold in a unique glass case and the regular proof issues will be released in a printed display box.
Alvar Aalto (1898–1976) was a renowned pioneer of modern architecture and design. Aalto drew his inspiration from Finnish nature and tradition, but also from the history of architecture. He is known as a functionalist aiming for simple, geometric and beautiful, yet functional solutions. Aalto's most famous work includes Paimio Sanatorium and Finlandia Hall, his stackable stools, and the Savoy Vase, frequently cited as the world's best-known glass object. Aalto had an exceptionally wide-ranging and diverse career, both in Finland and internationally.
The Special Numbered Coin in it's glass case
The proof 10 Euro coin is available for pre-order from the Mint of Finland from the 2nd of May 2016 for €45.00 and the limited numbered version for €74.00.
All images courtesy of the Mint of Finland
