Obverse. Photo © NumisCorner.com
  • 2 Euro 2017, KM# 81, Estonia, Estonia’s Road to Independence
  • 2 Euro 2017, KM# 81, Estonia, Estonia’s Road to Independence
  • 2 Euro 2017, KM# 81, Estonia, Estonia’s Road to Independence, Coincard
  • 2 Euro 2017, KM# 81, Estonia, Estonia’s Road to Independence, Coincard
Description

The 100th anniversary of the Republic of Estonia falls in 2018. But the state was not founded in a single day. Estonia gained autonomy after the February Revolution in Russia in 1917 when the province of Estonia was established. On 1 July 1917 the first representative parliament of the Estonian people, known as Maapäev, assembled. It declared itself the highest organ of power in Estonia on 15 November 1917. It was a big step towards statehood. To mark the events that preceded the declaration of independence, Eesti Pank issued a two-euro commemorative coin.

Obverse

Depicts oak leaves, bare oak branches and the trunk of an oak. The winding oak symbolises Estonia’s road to independence, the bare branches relate to the year 1917, and the leaves symbolise strength, achievement and longevity. The oak leaves feature on the great coat of arms of the Republic of Estonia.

The Estonian Provincial Assembly (Estonian: Maapäev) was elected after the February Revolution in 1917 as the national diet of the Autonomous Governorate of Estonia in Russian Empire. On November 28, 1917, after the October Revolution the Assembly declared itself the sovereign power on Estonia and called for the elections of the Estonian Constituent Assembly. On the eve of the German occupation of Estonia in World War I the council elected the Estonian Salvation Committee and issued the Estonian Declaration of Independence on February 24, 1918. After the German occupation of Estonia ended, the Maapäev continued as the legislative assembly of Estonia until 1919.

Design: Jaan Meristo

1917 EESTI
2017
MAAPÄEV

Reverse

A geographical map of Western Europe spans the outer ring and inner core on the right side of the coin. The inscription 2 EURO is superimposed over the map of Europe, with the numeral “2” located in an open field representing the eastern Atlantic Ocean.

12 stars are located on the right side of the outer ring, with six stars atop the map of Europe and six stars below it; six vertical stripes cut across the inner core of the coin, visually connecting the upper and lower star segments.

Luc Luycx, a designer at the Royal Belgian Mint, designed the Euro’s common reverse; his initials, LL, are seen on the right side of the design, just under the “O” in “EURO.”

2 EURO
LL

Edge

ESTONIA in Estonian upright and inverted

EESTI ○ EESTI ○

2 Euro

Estonia’s Road to Independence

KM# 81
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Characteristics
Type Commemorative Issue (Circulating)
Material Bi-Metallic
Ring Cupronickel
Center Nickel Brass
Weight 8.5 g
Diameter 25.75 mm
Thickness 2.2 mm
Shape round
Alignment Medal
Mint
Lithuanian Mint (LMK)

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