Sberbank and the Central Bank of the Russian Federation have signed an agreement (pictured) to produce a range of coins featuring Olympic sports, mass sports, Olympic venues, cultural heritage and the uniqueness of the Sochi region, among others.

A total of 21 types of commemorative coins made of silver, 13 of gold and three of non-ferrous metal are planned for mass circulation.

There will also be one issue of savings coins made of silver and two types of gold.

The coins will be issued in the Russian Federation from 2011.

Sochi 2014 President and chief executive Dmitry Chernyshenko said: "The launch of the coin program always has special significance in the preparation for the Olympic Games.

"Coins depicting various winter sports and the Sochi Olympic venues will become collectors' items for countless fans of the Olympic and Paralympic Movement.

"These coins are particularly special as their manufacture will use innovative technologies to create them, which once again underlines our commitment to creating the most innovative Games in history."

The implementation of the coin programme is one of the areas of long-term partnership with Sberbank of Russia and the Sochi 2014 Organising Committee.

The partnership also provides Sberbank with a platform to implement a number of development projects for the service banking infrastructure of the Krasnodar region and Sochi as well as a number of special programmes for bank clients, guests and participants of the Games in Sochi.


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