The Republic of Estonia, situated along the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe, is bordered by the Gulf of Finland to the north, Sweden to the west, Latvia to the south, and Russia to the east. Covering a total area of 45,339 square kilometers, Estonia's diverse geography includes the mainland, the larger islands of Saaremaa and Hiiumaa, and an extensive array of over 2,200 islands and islets along the eastern Baltic coast.
Before adopting the euro, the official currency of Estonia was the Estonian kroon. Introduced in 1928, it replaced the Estonian mark and derived its name from the Latin word "Corona," meaning crown. The term "kroon" is linguistically connected to the currencies of Nordic countries, such as the Danish and Norwegian krone, as well as the Swedish krona.
The kroon remained in use until 1940 when, following the Soviet invasion and Estonia's incorporation into the Soviet Union, it was replaced by the Soviet ruble. Estonia regained its independence in 1992, leading to the reintroduction of the kroon. Banknotes in denominations of 1, 2, 5, 10, 25, 100, and 500 krooni were introduced in that year, featuring prominent Estonian personalities like Kristjan Raud, Karl Ernst von Baer, Paul Keres, Jakob Hurt, Anton Hansen Tammsaare, Rudolf Tobias, Lydia Koidula, and Carl Robert Jakobson.
The 1994 issues of the kroon banknotes have the same design as the preceding issues but bear UV printing, novel serial numbers, and screen traps. They also have stylized cornflower registration devices instead of guilloches.
On January 1, 2011, Estonia adopted the euro, replacing the Estonian kroon as its official currency.
