Feature: The 150th anniversary of the Parliament of 1863 when regular Parliament sessions started in Finland

Description:The 2-euro commemorative coin is depicted with the year 1863 and a shoot growing out of it symbolising the start of democracy and Finland’s development. In semicircle, at the bottom, the name of the issuing country ‘SUOMI FINLAND’ with the two words separated by the mint mark, and the year ‘2013’. The Diet of 1863 is the start of period of illumination. In Finland, the year 1863 marked a start for genuine democracy, transparent press operations and the right to use the Finnish language. With the beginning of regular meetings of the Diet, the opportunities of Finns to influence affairs in their own country improved in an unprecedented way. The year marked the beginning of a period of illumination for Finnish democracy. The coin’s outer ring bears the 12 stars of the European Union.