10 Markkaa European Union Presidency, silver and gold

Finland assumed the rotating presidency of the EU Council for the first time in the second half of 1999 — a politically significant moment, as the country had only joined the Union four years earlier. The presidency coincided with the formal launch of the euro as an accounting currency on 1 January 1999, making Finland's term one of the most consequential in the Council's history for monetary affairs. This bimetallic commemorative was issued alongside a standard silver version (KM#91), the gold-ringed variant commanding a premium that kept most examples out of circulation entirely.