Item: i85579 Authentic Coin of:

Finland - "The Unknown Soldier" - Finnish Film Art 2005 Silver 10 Euro 38mm (25.50 grams) 0.925 Silver (0.7584 oz. ASW) Reference: KM# 122, Schön# 122 SUOMI.FINLAND.SUO 10.EURO.10.EURO.1, Scene with helmeted soldier atop film. TUNTEMATON SOTILAS 2005 P, Trench. You are bidding on the exact item pictured, provided with a Certificate of Authenticity and Lifetime Guarantee of Authenticity.

The Unknown Soldier (Finnish: Tuntematon sotilas , Swedish: Okänd soldat ) is a Finnish film directed by Edvin Laine that premiered in December 1955. It is based on The Unknown Soldier , a novel by Väinö Linna. The story is about the Continuation War between Finland and the Soviet Union as told from the viewpoint of ordinary Finnish soldiers. The film was and remains the most successful movie ever in Finland; about 2.8 million people, or more than half the Finnish population, saw it in theaters. Its portrayal of Linna's characters is widely accepted as canonical.

Set against the events of the Finnish Continuation War, the film follows a machine gun troop's journey into the Soviet Union. The troop includes the simple-minded Hietanen, the jokey Vanhala, the cynical Lahtinen, the cowardly Riitaoja and grumpy Lehto. The film also follows the commanding officers, such as the happy and slightly senile Captain Kaarna, the young and idealistic 2nd Lieutenant Kariluoto, the calm and modest 2nd Lieutenant Koskela and the strict and unsympathetic Lieutenant Lammio.

They face many struggles, such as seeing the supportive Kaarna die in their first battle, three of the soldiers refusing to leave their punishment post during an air-raid as well as defending the trenches after the Finns have taken back parts of Karelia. Part of the way, the troop is joined by Rokka, a Karelian veteran of the Winter War, who also clashes with Lammio due to having little respect for military discipline despite being an excellent and capable soldier.

Throughout the film several of the main characters die. Lehto is injured during night-patrol, left behind and shoots himself. Riitaoja dies the same night when he runs off frightened and gets lost in the woods. Lahtinen dies during the winter, defending his position as his fellow soldiers flee. Hietanen becomes blinded when he saves a young serviceman from being shot. His military ambulance crashes and the blinded Hietanen is gunned down by passing Russian planes while trying to save the other injured soldiers. Kariluoto dies while leading a counter-attack, and shortly afterwards Koskela gets shot while destroying a tank using a satchel charge.

• Kosti Klemelä as Lt. Koskela
• Heikki Savolainen as Sgt. Hietanen
• Reino Tolvanen as Cpl. Rokka
• Veikko Sinisalo as Cpl. Lahtinen
• Åke Lindman as Cpl. Lehto
• Pentti Siimes as PFC. Määttä
• Leo Riuttu as Pvt. Vanhala
• Kaarlo Halttunen as Pvt. Rahikainen
• Matti Ranin as Cpt. Kariluoto
• Jussi Jurkka as Lt. Lammio
• Tauno Palo as Maj. Sarastie
• Pentti Irjala as Cpt. Kaarna
• Vilho Siivola as Supply Cpl. Mäkilä
• Olavi Ahonen as Pvt. Riitaoja
• Tarmo Manni as Pvt. Honkajoki
• Veli-Matti Kaitala as Pvt. Hauhia
• Tapio Hämäläinen as Pvt. Salo
• Martti Romppanen as Pvt. Sihvonen
• Vili Auvinen as Pvt. Asumaniemi

Since 2000, Yle has broadcast the film every year on the Independence Day of Finland (December 6). In 2015, the movie was moved to Yle Teema, away from its usual slot on either Yle TV1 or Yle TV2.

In 1985, with Väinö Linna's approval, Rauni Mollberg directed a remake. This film follows the novel more closely but also features obvious visual nods to the 1955 version.

A new film version, directed by Aku Louhimies came out in 2017.

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland (Finnish: Suomen tasavalta , Swedish: Republiken Finland ) is a country in Northern Europe bordering the Baltic Sea, Gulf of Bothnia, and Gulf of Finland, between Norway to the north, Sweden to the northwest, and Russia to the east. Finland is a Nordic country and is situated in the geographical region of Fennoscandia. The capital and the largest city is Helsinki.

Finland's population is 5.5 million (2017), and the majority of the population is concentrated in the southern region. 88.7% of the population is Finnish and speaks Finnish, a Uralic language unrelated to the Scandinavian languages; next come the Finland-Swedes (5.3%). Finland is the eighth-largest country in Europe and the most sparsely populated country in the European Union. It is a parliamentary republic with a central government based in the capital city of Helsinki, local governments in 311 municipalities, and one autonomous region, the Åland Islands. Over 1.4 million people live in the Greater Helsinki metropolitan area, which produces one third of the country's GDP.

Finland was inhabited when the last ice age ended, approximately 9000 BCE. The first settlers left behind artefacts that present characteristics shared with those found in Estonia, Russia, and Norway. The earliest people were hunter-gatherers, using stone tools. The first pottery appeared in 5200 BCE, when the Comb Ceramic culture was introduced. The arrival of the Corded Ware culture in southern coastal Finland between 3000 and 2500 BCE may have coincided with the start of agriculture. The Bronze Age and Iron Age were characterised by extensive contacts with other cultures in the Fennoscandian and Baltic regions and the sedentary farming inhabitation increased towards the end of Iron Age. At the time Finland had three main cultural areas - Southwest Finland, Tavastia and Karelia - as reflected in contemporary jewellery.

From the late 13th century, Finland gradually became an integral part of Sweden through the Northern Crusades and the Swedish part-colonisation of coastal Finland, a legacy reflected in the prevalence of the Swedish language and its official status. In 1809, Finland was incorporated into the Russian Empire as the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland. In 1906, Finland became the first European state to grant all adult citizens the right to vote, and the first in the world to give all adult citizens the right to run for public office.

Following the 1917 Russian Revolution, Finland declared itself independent. In 1918, the fledgling state was divided by civil war, with the Bolshevik-leaning Red Guard supported by the equally new Soviet Russia, fighting the White Guard, supported by the German Empire. After a brief attempt to establish a kingdom, the country became a republic. During World War II, the Soviet Union sought repeatedly to occupy Finland, with Finland losing parts of Karelia, Salla, Kuusamo, Petsamo and some islands, but retaining independence.

Finland joined the United Nations in 1955 and established an official policy of neutrality. The Finno-Soviet Treaty of 1948 gave the Soviet Union some leverage in Finnish domestic politics during the Cold War era. Finland joined the OECD in 1969, the NATO Partnership for Peace in 1994, the European Union in 1995, the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council in 1997,[19] and finally the Eurozone at its inception, in 1999.

Finland was a relative latecomer to industrialisation, remaining a largely agrarian country until the 1950s. After World War II, the Soviet Union demanded war reparations from Finland not only in money but also in material, such as ships and machinery. This forced Finland to industrialise. It rapidly developed an advanced economy while building an extensive welfare state based on the Nordic model, resulting in widespread prosperity and one of the highest per capita incomes in the world. Finland is a top performer in numerous metrics of national performance, including education, economic competitiveness, civil liberties, quality of life, and human development. In 2015, Finland was ranked first in the World Human Capital and the Press Freedom Index and as the most stable country in the world during 2011-2016 in the Fragile States Index, and second in the Global Gender Gap Report. A large majority of Finns are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, and freedom of religion is guaranteed under the Finnish Constitution.