| Description : After the February Revolution in Russia in 1917, tsarist rule
was also abolished in Estonia. On the 12th of April 1917 the Russian Provisional Government issued a decree on granting
the autonomy of Estonia. After general, indirect elections, the Provisional Parliament of the Estonian Governorate
(Ajutine Maanõukogu, unofficially called Maapäev) was constituted on the 14th of July 1917,
with its seat in Tallinn. Shortly after the October Revolution in Petrograd, it declared itself the supreme authority in
Estonia. Initally the members of parliament rejected the Bolsheviks' demand for the dissolution of parliament, however when the
parliament was subsequently dissolved by force, the MPs went underground. The coin, designed by Jaan Meristo, shows
bare branches on the left, symbolising the year 1917, and the twisted trunk of an oak tree representing Estonia's path to
independence, and on the right, leaves and acorns of a common oak (oak leaves symbolising strength and longevity, normally
part of the coat of arms of Estonia). On the left is the date "1917", below it "MAAPÄEV" (provisional state
parliament), on the right the issuing state "EESTI" (Estonia) and the year of issue "2017". The coin was produced without mint
marks by the Lithuanian mint Lietuvos monetų kalykla in Vilnius. |
