The Ateneum art museum and the Finnish Mint have pooled together to develop a commemorative coin to celebrate the 150-year anniversary of the artist Helen Schjerfbeck. The artist’s work will be on display in a special exhibition at the Ateneum until October 14. The coin will be available from October 5.
The specially-minted two-euro coin features a portrait of the artist, which was designed by sculptor Erja Tielinen. Big spenders need not fear – the coin can be offered as legal tender anywhere in the euro area.
For aficionados looking to bag the coin for their personal collections, the best bet would be to hope to get it as change at the Ateneum’s ticket office, café or the museum shop.
Otherwise a limited number of different versions of the commemorative coin can be purchased from the Mint’s webshop or the Ateneum’s Rosebud book store. They can also be bought as part of a collection of special edition coins.
The image of the artist used on the coin is taken from a collection of her own self-portraits, in which she recorded her aging process with honesty and passion.
The Schjerfbeck coin marks the first time that a person’s image has been used on special edition money.
Traditionally money makers have used the images of national leaders or nature. Over the past ten years however, artistic themes have become a popular source of inspiration for new coinage.