May 2010 | Design of the Estonian Euro Coins

Estonian euro coins feature only a single design for all eight coins. This is a design by Lembit Lohmus and features a map of Estonia together with the word Eesti (Estonia) and the twelve stars surrounding the map.
 
This was the winning design in a public vote of ten announced in December 2004. Estonian euro coins are not currently in circulation since Estonia does not yet use the euro as its currency.
 
Estonia and the other nine states that joined the EU in 2004 have committed to adopting the euro. Of the ten new member states, Estonia was the first to unveil its design. It originally planned to adopt the euro on 1 January 2007; however, it did not formally apply when Slovenia did, and officially changed its target date to 1 January 2008, and later, to 1 January 2011.
 
Estonian euro design
 
The winning design features the outline of Estonia and the word “Eesti”. The Estonian euro coins will be minted after the decision to join the euro area will have been announced.
 
The winner of the design competition of the national side of the Estonian euro coin was the artist Lembit Lohmus. His entry Hara 2 (No. 4) received 12,482 votes in the telephone voting. A competition was announced in June 2004 and 134 designs were submitted by the deadline of 19 October.
 
A jury of experts convened by Eesti Pank selected 10 best designs, which were then given a total of 45,453 votes during a one-week telephone voting. The jury, which had made the decision on the ten designs in the national round in early November, approved the results of the telephone voting.
 
Euro coins with the Estonian national side will be valid as legal tender outside Estonia as well.

The common side of each coin is identical in all Member States, but the national side differs in each country. Despite different appearances, all coins are legal tender throughout the euro area, and so will be the Estonian coins.