10 Markka

The 10 markkaa was the highest-denomination circulating coin of the Finnish markka in its final years, issued from 1993 until Finland adopted the euro. It is a bimetallic piece with a pale cupronickel outer ring surrounding a golden aluminium-bronze centre, a two-tone look that made it easy to tell apart from Finland's smaller single-metal coins.

The photographed example is dated 1994 and carries the legend SUOMI FINLAND (the country's name in Finnish and Swedish/English) around the ring. Its central design is a capercaillie, or wood grouse, a large forest bird strongly associated with Finnish nature. Because it circulated widely and was demonetised only about a decade later, the coin is very common today and is one of the pieces people most often pull from old travel-money jars.

Finland's markka (markkaa) served as the national currency from 1860 until the changeover to the euro. The bimetallic 10 markkaa was introduced in 1993 as part of a redesigned coin series and, at ten markkaa, sat at the top of the everyday circulating denominations above the 1 and 5 markkaa pieces.

Production ran through 2001, with the coin bearing the year of striking; a 1994 date falls near the start of that run. Finland joined the euro on 1 January 1999 for accounting and introduced euro coins and notes on 1 January 2002, at which point the markka coinage, including the 10 markkaa, was withdrawn from circulation. Markka coins and banknotes remained exchangeable at the Bank of Finland for a limited period after the changeover, but that redemption window has since closed, so the coin no longer has any face or exchange value.

Look for a two-colour (bimetallic) coin roughly 27 mm across: a light silver-coloured cupronickel ring around a warm gold-coloured aluminium-bronze core. One side shows a capercaillie (a heavy-bodied grouse with a fanned tail) within the inner disc, with the year and the words SUOMI FINLAND on the ring, as seen on the 1994 example here.

The opposite face carries the large numeral 10 with the word MARKKAA (and rowan branch and berry ornament), confirming the denomination. The edge is plain. Genuine pieces weigh about 8.8 g and are about 2 mm thick.

Do not confuse it with the older, pre-1963 Finnish 10 markkaa coins, which are single-metal and much older in date, or with Finland's smaller 1 markka and 5 markka coins from the same 1990s series.

The 10 markkaa is a very common circulation coin and was struck in large numbers across its run, so most examples carry only modest collector value. Worn, circulated pieces such as a typical 1994 coin are generally worth a small amount above their scrap-metal content — usually a figure in the low single digits in US dollars, driven mainly by novelty and the appealing bimetallic design.

Since the markka has been fully replaced by the euro and the exchange period has ended, the coin can no longer be redeemed for currency; its worth is purely as a collectible or curio. Uncirculated examples, key dates, or coins still in original mint or proof sets can bring somewhat more, but individual circulated coins remain inexpensive.