Estonia has issued a 2019 circulating commemorative €2 coin, its special design celebrating the 150th anniversary of the nation’s Song Festival. The new coin was launched May 29. 

The coin features an obverse design chosen through a drawing competition for children and a public online vote. The Song Festival coin was designed by Grete-Lisette Gulbis from Tõrva, 15 years old when the winning design was announced in March 2018. 

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In total 1 million coins will be minted, of which 10,000 will be of Brilliant Uncirculated quality and sold on a coin card.

Grete-Lisette said her design was inspired by the national costumes and shouts of joy in the Song Festival procession and the rows of Song Festival participants moving, like waves on the sea.

A drawing competition in autumn 2017 received 8,000 submissions by children, from which a jury selected 96 drawings to go before the final selection panel. 

The initial jury consisted of staff of the central bank and each drawing was considered by at least three people. The coin selection panel convened in January 2018 then chose eight drawings, with two from each age group, to be entered in the three-week long public online vote. 

The design by Grete-Lisette Gulbis received 2,887 votes, which was 35 percent of the total of 8,322.

The coin features the reverse design common to all €2 coins. 

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