Estonia Drops Lowest Denomination Coins

Estonia is set to introduce new rounding rules next year, with the country also planning to stop minting 1 and 2 cent coins. As cash transactions will be rounded to the nearest 5 cents, the lowest denomination coins, although remaining legal tender, will essentially become obsolete. Surpluses of these coins, featuring Estonia’s national reverse design, will be sent to other European countries where they are still in use.

As is the case in many countries, Eesti Pank documented a lack of recirculation for low denomination coinage, despite ordering truckloads of the 1 and 2 cents coins each year. Estonia is hardly the first country to introduce coin rounding, with the Falkland Islands and Lithuania also set to introduce the same rules next year. A few recent examples where coin rounding has been established include Belgium, Ireland, the Bahamas, Ukraine, Peru, and Slovakia, amongst others.

The central bank launched a coin collection campaign last year, in response to the issue, collecting over €1 million worth of coins in the first week via two coin collection machines situated in post offices. Collection volumes have since slowed, although Eesti Pank’s project partner, Omniva, noted that deposits varied widely, from 17 cent returns to customers exceeding the maximum daily allowance of 3kg deposits.