Gold Coin FOR INDEPENDENT NATION 2010

When Finland was joined to Russia, the silver rouble was declared as the only legal means of payment. Nevertheless, Russia had to leave the silver standard almost immediately and paper roubles with varying values were being used.

The situation became even more difficult because according to the old practice, the Swedish riksdaler was the most common currency. The return to the silver standard was carried out in 1840 but the stable situation thereafter lasted for only 15 years. After the Crimean War, Russia and Finland – that was tied to Russia’s system – had to leave the metal standard.

Smaller currency unit

In December 1859, the Senate petitioned the Tsar for permission for Finland to start using its own currency. The argument was that the rouble was too big of a currency for a poor country like Finland.

St. Petersburg understood the benefits of a smaller currency unit, and the Senate was ordered to proceed with the matter in more detail. On March 10 1860, the Senate passed a resolution to adopt the finmark as the Finnish currency.

Divided into 100 pennies, the finmark was worth a quarter of a rouble. Tsar Alexander II approved the proposal and the new currency was adopted on April 4, 1860.

Mint of Finland is born

On 19 April 1860, the Tsar gave a manifesto that obliged the Senate to make a detailed plan on how to release metal and paper currency and how to found a mint. They decided to build the mint on the Katajanokka cape in Helsinki.

The mint was able to start operating in August 1864, and the first metal marks that were made of silver were minted on 15 October 1864. The first and mostly symbolic consignment of money was delivered to the Bank of Finland on 25 October 1864.

The consignment included 30.000 one penny coins that were made of copper. In 1865, the value of the mark was tied to the silver standard. Russia failed to return to the silver standard, which meant that the monetary systems of the two countries became inadvertently separated.

Finnish lion to Finnish coins

On 27 May 1918, a new law on currency and a statute of changing the appearance of the metal coin were issued. On the front side of the coin, a lion coat of arms replaced the Russian double-headed eagle and on the back side, the coat of leaves gave way to corn and conifer tree branches that symbolised the Finnish economic life.

In the 1963 monetary reform, the new mark was adopted and it was worth 100 of the old marks. The coins and notes that were introduced in the monetary reform were the same as earlier despite a couple of details. However, their value was marked according to the new currency unit.

Joining the euro

On 1 January 1999, Finland joined the euro, the European common currency, and the Finnish mark ceased to exist as an independent currency. First euro coins and notes were issued in the beginning of 2002.

The euro was used alongside the mark for two months, and the use of the mark-denominated currency ceased on 28 February 2002.