A new two-euro commemorative coin was issued on 17 October 2011. The motif of the commemorative coin for 2011 is the Bank of Finland’s 200th anniversary. In 1811, Emperor Alexander I of Russia decreed that an ‘Exchange, Lending and Deposit Office’ was to be established in Turku, Finland. It was Finland’s first bank and eventually became the Bank of Finland, which moved to Helsinki in 1819. The Bank began to operate as a central bank in the latter part of the 19th century, after Finland obtained its own monetary unit and commercial banks had been established in the country.
The commemorative coin, designed by the artist Hannu Veijalainen, depicts Finland’s national bird, the swan.
A total of 1.6 million new commemorative coins have been struck, and these circulate in banks and retail outlets along with the regular two-euro coins. Each euro area country is permitted to issue a two-euro commemorative coin once a year. Commemorative coins are legal tender in all euro area countries.