Designed by Daria Titova, EKA student from Ukraine
On Friday, Eesti Pank starts selling the coin card featuring the two-euro coin dedicated to Ukraine and freedom, and will give the income from sales of them to the Ukrainian central bank. The coin was designed by Daria Titova, a young Ukrainian refugee from the war who is studying at the Estonian Academy of Arts.
The coin card costs 18 euros. Eesti Pank will announce how much income from the sales of the coin cards will go to the Ukrainian central bank once the number of coin cards sold is known, and tax and the cost of the sales channels have been deducted. Eesti Pank is initially planning to produce 40,000 coin cards, but is prepared to increase the number if demand should prove stronger.
The coin card goes on sale on 8 July, while the coins with a special design will enter into broader circulation at the end of this year. In total two million two-euro coins will be issued. Eesti Pank chose this two-step approach to support Ukraine, which is fighting for its freedom, as fast as possible.
“It normally takes 18 months to create a two-euro coin with a special design, but in this case we managed it in four months as we wished to support Ukraine faster. The Estonian Academy of Arts played a key role, quickly organising a design competition among Ukrainian refugees who study at the Academy. Ukraine is fighting for its freedom, and every euro counts”, said Governor of Eesti Pank Madis Müller.
The two-euro coin dedicated to Ukraine and freedom features a girl as a symbol of tenderness, protecting a bird in her hand. The design also features an ear of wheat. The coin was designed by Daria Titova, who is originally from Kharkiv and studies at the Estonian Academy of Arts. The coin card was designed by Vladimir Taiger, who was also an advisor for the design of the coin.
Eesti Pank started to prepare for the issue of the coin in April. The Estonian Academy of Arts, where Ukrainian art students could continue their studies this spring, played a major role, organising a design competition among them, which Daria Titova won. At the beginning of May, the Supervisory Board of the central bank approved the design and decided also to use the text Slava Ukraini on the coin to symbolise the independence and resistance of Ukraine. After that, the design of the coin needed to be approved by the European Commission and the EU member states. At the same time, Eesti Pank prepared for the production of the coin cards and two-euro coins. The coins were minted in Slovakia and the coin cards printed in Poland.
The coin cards are on sale in the Omniva online shop from 13:00 on Friday, 8 July. To support Ukraine, Omniva will not charge its usual handling free and the coin cards can be purchased online without the handling fee. Since the 40,000 coin cards from Poland will be delivered in several batches, the first 10,000 coin cards will arrive earlier and the delivery times of the rest of the cards will be slightly longer. Eesti Pank kindly asks for understanding.
Additional information:
Viljar Rääsk
Head of Communications
Eesti Pank
+372 527 5055
Press enquiries: press@eestipank.ee