The ice hockey coin encouraged over 1,300 ice hockey and coin fans around Europe to cast their vote. Petri Neuvonen's entry, "Face-off", was the most popular theme. The look of the new ice hockey coin captures the spirit of ice hockey.
On 2 April 2012, the Mint of Finland will mint a collector’s coin in honour of the 2012 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship. Members of the public selected the theme for the coin by voting for their favourite on the Mint of Finland's website between 11 and 19 January 2012.
Despite the short voting period over 1,300 Europeans cast their vote.
A fight to the finishThe competition was tough between the top three entries and the differences were small. Tapio Kettunen's "Better get out of the way of our stars" came second, and Henna Lamberg's "Attackers" came third in the vote.
Petri Neuvonen, the designer of the winning entry, admits that international matches offer inspiration.
”The ice hockey world championships and the Olympics have me glued to the screen – they have a certain pull.”
With the new ice hockey coin the plot thickens. The coin captures the exciting first seconds of a match, as well as the conclusion – the moment the puck is in the goal. The reverse side of the coin depicts a player with the puck at a face-off, when the score is still even. The obverse side depicts a puck flying into the goal, the conclusion of the match.
Petri Neuvonen was awarded EUR 5,000 for first place, Pekka Kettunen received EUR 3,000 for second place, and Henna Lamberg earned EUR 2,000 for third place.
An ice hockey collector’s coin was raffled among the voters. The winner has been informed personally. The prize will be delivered in April following the release of the new coin.
Petri Neuvonen's entry, "Face-off".
Mint of Finland Ltd. is the leading mint in the Eurozone. It is the sole owner of the German coin-blank manufacturer, Saxonia EuroCoin GmbH, and holds a 50 percent share in the Norwegian Det Norske Myntverket. The Mint of Finland is dedicated to designing, marketing and minting coins. The company is owned by the Finnish state. The Mint of Finland produces metallic currency, commemorative and collector’s coins, as well as coin sets. In 2012, the Mint of Finland will issue six new collector’s coins and two commemorative coins. To see how coins are produced, visit the 'About a Coin' exhibition at Heureka, the Finnish Science Centre. For further information about events in 2012, go to: www.suomenrahapaja.fi
