Bank of Estonia issuing commemorative €2 coin for Antarctica bicentennial
This January marks the 200th anniversary of the discovery of Antarctica, and among the first people to see the continent and document the discovery was Saaremaa-born Baltic German seafarer Fabian Gottlieb Benjamin von Bellingshausen. To celebrate the bicentennial, the Bank of Estonia is issuing 750,000 €2 circulation coins featuring a special Antarctica 200 design.
The commemorative €2 coin — whose design features the Vostok, the ship on which Adm. von Bellingshausen sailed around the world — as well as the coin card accompanying the 10,000 BU (brilliant uncirculated) collectors' item coins were designed by artists Tiiu Pirsko and Mati Veermets, the Bank of Estonia said in a press release on Monday.
The coin will go on sale in the Omniva online store at 12 p.m. on Monday, January 27; the Bank of Estonia Museum shop will begin selling the coins and coin cards at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, January 28. Up to five coin cards and ten rolls of coin may be purchased at once.
The Antarctica 200 commemorative coin and coin card will formally be unveiled at Fat Margaret tower in Tallinn's Old Town at 12 p.mm. on January 27.
What are commemorative coins?
€2 commemorative coins are circulation coins with the usual common side and a special design featured on the national side dedicated to commemorating a particular significant national or European event or topic; all commemorative coins are legal tender throughout the euro area.
Since 2016, the Bank of Estonia has issued five commemorative coins with special designs for Estonia and one commemorative coin together with Latvia and Lithuania.
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Editor: Aili Vahtla
