Counterfeit coins with Estonian motifs are not means of payment

Eesti Pank announces that the counterfeit coins with Estonian motifs, which resemble Euros and are being offered for sale at several Internet auctions abroad, are not official means of payment and do not relate in any way to Eesti Pank.

The cover design of the booklet containing the above-mentioned coins depicts the national flag of Estonia, views of Tallinn, Estonian historical persons, etc. The counterfeit coins display the sailor Bellingshausen, the biologist von Baer, a viking ship, as well as the barn swallow and other nature motifs. The booklets are provided with accompanying text in English or Estonian.

The official coin booklets of Eesti Pank, which so far have contained only Estonian kroons and sents, carry a notation confirming they have been issued by Eesti Pank.

In order to find official design for the Estonian Euro coins, Eesti Pank announced a public competition in June 2004. Designs can be submitted until 19 October, and both private individuals and groups of authors, who send their duly formalised designs to Eesti Pank by the deadline, are allowed to participate

By 10 November 2004 at the latest, a panel summoned by Eesti Pank will choose ten best designs out of the competition entries, from which the public will select the winner by a national telephone vote. The results of the competition will be announced by 17 December 2004 at the latest. The award for the winning design is EEK 70.000, which consists of the royalty and the main prize.