Baltic, Banks, Financial Services

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Baltic States, the central banks of the Baltic States − Eesti Pank, Latvijas Banka and Lietuvos Bankas − plan to issue a 2 euro commemorative coin with a common design on the national side, in the beginning of 2018. When received as a means of payment, this 2 euro coin has to remind the citizens of the Baltic States and elsewhere in the euro area of the determination of the Baltic nations to defend their statehood, acquired 100 years ago or re-established again. At the same time the coin has to be a testimony of the unity of the Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian nations and their readiness to cooperate for the sake of their independence and freedom.

The juries of the central banks of the three Baltic states will each select two of the designs submitted in their country in the first round of the competition, and the chosen designs will progress to the second round and the public vote. The results of the first round will not be published. Two designs from each country will be entered anonymously in the second round of the competition and the final result will be decided by an online vote. The exact conditions for the online vote will be published once the central banks have made their initial choice.

Designs submitted as competition entries should only be for the national side of the coin. 

The design should contain elements that make it clear that the coin is dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the independence of all three Baltic states. The compulsory elements of the design are the year 2018 and the word "Baltics", which will be replaced by the national name of the issuing country for each coin, Eesti, Latvija or Lietuva. The design should also use the circle of twelve stars around the whole national part of the design. The twelve stars must appear as they do on the standard two-euro circulation coin.

The detailed rules for the competition and procedures of the judging panel for the design of the two-euro commemorative coin dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the independence of the Baltic states

The deadline for the submission of correctly formatted designs is 6 March 2017 at 12.00. Designs with a one-word title should be sent in a sealed envelope to Eesti Pank by the deadline to: Mündižürii, Eesti Pank, Estonia pst 13, 15095 Tallinn.

The results of the online vote will be announced by 30 June 2017 at the latest. Candidates who get through to the second round will receive an award of 1000 euros for each successful design. Once the coin is released, the winning designer will receive a prize of 1500 euros.

The central banks of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania will jointly issue two-euro commemorative coin into circulation in early 2018.