2001 Finland 100Mk Silver Proof Coin "Aino Ackté"

This coin was minted by the Mint of Finland to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the birth of Aino Ackté, the famous Finnish mezzo soprano opera singer.

Aino Achté was born in Helsinki on April 23, 1876, and received her first singing lessons from her mother. She debuted on stage at the age of 17, and astonished the audience with her pure voice and the technical maturity of her singing. In 1894 she was admitted to the Paris Conservatoire, where she also changed her surname from Achté to Ackté to stop the French from making fun of her (in French, "acheté" means "bought"). In 1897, her first performance at the Paris Opéra was an enormous success, and she stayed there for six years. From 1904 to 1906, Aino Ackté worked with the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Ending her international singing career in 1913, she continued performing in Finland, and focused most of her energy on enhancing the status of the opera in her homeland. In 1911, she co-founded what is today the Finnish National Opera. In 1938-39, she accepted the post of general director of the Opera on a one-year contract. However, her most remarkable achievement in the field of Finnish opera was organizing the Opera Festival in Savonlinna from 1912 to 1916, and again in 1930, with the goal of making new operas by Finnish composers accessible to everyone. Aino Ackté died in Nummela on August 8, 1944.

Designed by industrial designer Timo Rytknen, the obverse shows a stylized image of a wide-brimmed hat and part of a female face, while the reverse features a stage curtain and a shoe peeking out from under it.

The coin is minted in 92.5% sterling silver and measures 35 mm in diameter with a weight of 31.2 grams. The worldwide issue limit for this proof quality version was only 12,000 pcs. Each coin comes encapsulated in a jewel box with a certificate of authenticity issued by the Mint of Finland.