200 Years of the Bank of Finland

Finland's national bird — the whooper swan — with one wing spread between the dates "1811" (lower right) and "2011" (upper left). Along the lower inner rim the issuing country "FI" and the mint mark.

When Finland fell to Russia in 1809 after the war against Sweden and became a Grand Duchy, the country faced the task of building its own state structures. As early as 1811, Tsar Alexander I founded the Bank of Finland — then still known as the Exchange, Loan and Deposit Office in Turku. It was one of the world's first central banks and is thus one of the oldest still-active note-issuing banks. From the outset, the Bank of Finland has independently managed the country's monetary and financial policy. Today it is part of the European System of Central Banks and, as the national central bank, contributes to the eurozone's common monetary policy — a continuity spanning more than two centuries, several currencies and profound political upheavals.

For Finnish history, the National Bank has served more than a purely economic function. During the struggle for independence, industrialisation and post-war reconstruction, it was a stabilising instrument of state sovereignty. Since 1812, the bank has been headquartered in Helsinki, which was elevated to the new capital that same year — a step that marked Finland's geopolitical orientation toward the east. The bank accompanied the transition from the markka to the euro in 2002 and remains accountable to the Finnish Parliament to this day. Finland marked the bank's 200th founding anniversary in 2011 with a 2-euro commemorative coin.