One of those mints in the Eastern half of Europe that has a knack and a reputation for creating striking and modern coin designs, the Mint of Finland has released some great coins recently. Their designs are often quite simple in execution but very effective and attractive, much like many of the coins issued by Lithuania and Latvia.

This new release celebrates the Finnish concept of ‘Sisu‘, basically stoic determination, and taking action in the face of overwhelming odds. Choosing a path of action and remaining with it despite repeated failures is Sisu. Said to be one of the fundamentals of Finnish culture, we’d imagine a recent example of this would have been this small country refusing to bow down to Stalin’s Soviet Union in 1939, and choosing to fight despite incredible odds. The Soviets forces had three times the men, thirty times the aircraft and a hundred times the amount of tanks, yet Finnish forces inflicted five times the casualties on the Soviets before finally surrendering due to sheer weight of numbers in 1940.

The coin has a clever design, especially the obverse with its heart in a fractured hole, and is available in a 25g sterling silver format and as a 10g 0.500 silver piece. While the mintage is set at 5,000 for the former and they’re all boxed (€61), just 50 pieces will be available with numbers inscribed on them and presented in a glass case (€100). The latter 50% pure silver coin that sells for €38 has a mintage of 25,000. There will be just 100 of these inscribed with a number and they’ll be randomly mixed into the mintage , so happy days all round if you bag one. All are available to order from the Mint of Finland e-store.

MINTS DESCRIPTION

The Finnish Sisu coin is a harmonious combination of sensitivity and strength. The collector coin’s face depicts two delicately sculpted hearts, while the reverse features a powerful three-dimensional image of a heart pushing through a tear in the centre of the coin.

The maximum mintage of the proof-quality EUR 20 silver Finnish Sisu collector coin is 5,000, and 50 coins will be numbered. The coins are numbered on the reverse, and the numbered coins are sold separately in beautiful glass cases.

Proof-quality Finnish Sisu collector coins are minted with a polished die, finished, and placed in a protective clear plastic casing set in a gift box that tells the coin’s story.

Sisu begins where perseverance ends

The Finnish people have always been driven by their spirit of perseverance (sisu). The modern sisu is wisdom of the heart, taking care of our neighbours and common affairs and, most of all, the courage to dream and set goals. This is manifested as individual survival stories, displays of community spirit and bold innovations. Finnish sisu has placed us on the world stage, providing a universal example of what a little grit can achieve.