Finland 50-PENNIA (KM66)
Brown Bear
The Krause catalogue identifies this as a polar bear (along with most of the internet), however, there are no polar bears in Finland! Further, the Brown bear (Ursus arctos) is the national animal of Finland. Therefore, the pudgy-faced staring at you from this coin is most definitely a Brown bear.
In 1963, Finland underwent monetary reform, with 100 old markkaa worth one new markkaa. The original 50 pennia coin was replaced in 1990 with this wonderful (and smaller) bear coin, which was minted until 2001 when Finland switched to the euro.
[With special thanks to Johanna for information about this coin]
All coin images in Daniel's Coin Zoo are from my personal collection. I collect, research, and personally photograph every coin displayed on this site. PLEASE do not take my images without permission. If you would like to use any coin image you see, just ask me. Thank you.
