To commemorate the occasion of the 95th anniversary of the birth of Astrid Lindgren, the Riksbank is issuing a commemorative coin.
A press viewing will be held at the Royal Coin Cabinet at 10 a.m., when Riksbank Governor Urban Bäckström will present the coin to the Royal Coin Cabinet, the national museum for coins, medals and the history of money. Press cards must be shown.
The coin is minted in an aluminium bronze alloy, known as "Nordic Gold" (Cu89Al5Zn5Sn1). The coin has the denomination 50 kronor. It weighs 22 g and has a diameter of 36 mm. The coin will be minted in an edition of no more than 100 000 coins. To ensure that as many people as possible are able to buy the coin, orders will be limited to one coin per household. The price of the coin has been set at SEK 60. For every coin sold, Nordic Coin AB Svenska myntverket will donate SEK 10 to the foundation for the Astrid Lindgren children's hospital. In connection with the press viewing, a cheque will be presented to a representative of the hospital.
The obverse of the coin contains a front-face portrait of Astrid Lindgren. To the left of the portrait is the vertical text ASTRID LINDGREN and to the right the years 1907-2002. The reverse of the coin contains a picture of Pippi Longstocking. Horizontally to the left of the picture is the denomination 50 with the currency abbreviation KR directly beneath. Pippi's pet monkey, Mr Nilsson, sits on the numvers and the text SVERIGE is visible at the lower edge of the coin horizontally following its curve. Below Pippi Longstocking's left arm is the first letter of the Riksbank Governor's surname, "B" and the letter "E", which stands for the place the coin was minted. The coin has a smooth edge.
The artist is Erja Tielinen, who has previously designed a number of medals and commemorative coins. The coin is minted by Nordic Coin AB Svenska myntverket in Eskilstuna.
Taking part in the press viewing will be Olle Björk, Chairman of the foundation for the Astrid Lindgren children's hospital, Erja Tielinen, the artist, Eva Wiséhn from the Royal Coin Cabinet, who will speak about Astrid Lindgren's life and works, Sanna Murray-Salander, from the Astrid Lindgren children's hospital and Carl Olof Nyman, who will be representing Astrid Lindgren's family.
More information on the coin can be found on the Riksbank's website: www.riksbank.se.
Any further questions can be answered by the Cashier's Division, Anders Ekström +468-787 04 82 and Per-Olof Arevik +46-8-787 04 84.
The coin can be ordered from:
Nordic Coin AB Svenska myntverket
www.myntverket.se
Telephone: +46-20-73 00 00
Fax: +46-20-32 00 32