Designer: Toivo Jaatinen
Ag 875, 30mm, 14g
Mintage UNC 201,000
OBVERSE: Bust of J.V. Snellman
REVERSE: Denomintion surrounded by a laurel wreath
Commemorates the 100th anniversary of the Finnish markka. On April 4, 1860 the Russian Emperor signed a declaration (derived from the proposal drafted by the Finnish Senate) giving Finland its own currency unit markka, the value of which was set at 1/4 of a ruble. Fabian Langenskiöld was the Minister of Finance who initiated the proposal and is thus the true Father of the markka. However it was under his successor J.V.Snellman (Langenskiöld passed away in 1863) that a further reform was passed in 1865 that made the Finnish markka, in practice, the only acceptable currency in Finland. Thus Snellman became associated popularly as the Father of the Finnish markka.
Intended to be a circulation piece, it was not commonly used because of the low mintage. 21,000 were returned to the mint.