The bridge in Rovaniemi is called Jätkänkynttilä, the «lumberjack’s candle»: its two tall pylons, brightly lit in the evening, recall these burning candles. This is the structure chosen to represent Lapland on Finland’s 2012 commemorative 5 euro coin.

Lapland and Uusimaa opened a new series in which each historical province of Finland is represented by a building or structure; both coins were released on the same day, 13 December 2012. The pictorial side shows the bridge and the legend SUOMI FINLAND with the letter N, a design by Petri Neuvonen. The other side carries the arms of Lapland, the date, the value and the letter T of Nora Tapper, who had previously designed the whole 2010–2011 provinces series.

The new series was struck in noticeably smaller numbers than its predecessor: 55,000 standard coins and 10,000 proofs, against 100,000 and 20,000 for the earlier provincial 5 euro coins. It was minted by the Mint of Finland in Vantaa.

The coin takes its place in the nine-coin «Buildings of the Provinces» series and in any topical collection of bridges and engineering. UNC condition: no signs of circulation, mint lustre intact.

Would you like to complete the whole series? See the other issues in the VPcoins catalogue.