This year, the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters turns 100 years and the Helsinki University of Technology celebrates 100 years as a university. In honour of this event a bimetallic collector coin has been minted. The Principal of Helsinki University of Technology Matti Pursula and the Secretary General of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters Matti Saarnisto issued the coin at the House of Estates 20th May, 2008. Mint of Finland Ltd was represented at the event by CEO Maarit Aarnio-Sirviö.

A total of 15 proposals were received by the deadline of the design competition arranged by the Collector Coin Committee. Among these, the jury selected the proposal named “Läpimurto – vihdoinkin uutta valoa” (“Breakthrough – new light at last) as the winner. It turned out that the designer behind the winning proposal was sculptor Tapio Kettunen. According to Kettunen, this particular design work was challenging owing to the scope of the theme. “I aimed at bringing out the extensive amount of work related to scientific research as well as the interdependency of different fields”, Kettunen describes the design of the coin.

The nominal value of the coin is 5 euros. It has a diameter of 35 millimetres and weighs 19.6 grammas. The ring of the coin is Nordic Gold and the middle part is of copper-nickel. The coin is minted to a maximum amount of 45 000 pieces, of which 20 000 coins are minted in Proof[¹¹¹⁶]-quality and 25 000 coins in Bu-quality.

The collector coin can also bought at the Finnish Postal Office stores, the Akateeminen Kirjakauppa bookstore in the Helsinki city centre and from most monetary shops.

Source: www.rahapaja.fi