Finland 2-EURO (KM230)

This circulating commemorative coin celebrates the life of Finnish artist Akseli Gallen-Kallela (1865-1931). He is best known for his paintings of scenes from the Kalevala, which is a 19th century work of epic poetry exploring Finnish oral folklore and mythology. This epic poem is considered instrumental in the development of Finland's national identity.

The "Tuonelan joutsen" (Swan of death) shows up in the epic somewhere in songs 11-15, where it is being hunted in the River of Death (which turned out to be a bad idea).

In 1895, Finnish composer Jean Sibelius composed a musical piece called "The Swan of Tounela" as part of a larger work called Four Legends of the Kalevala.

So, there is a lot of history and art packed onto this one coin.