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| Estonian 500 krooni banknote |
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| Estonian 500 krooni bill - 500 EEK |
Obverse: Portrait of Carl Robert Jakobson (1841–1882) – Estonian politician, publisher, writer and promoter of agriculture.
Reverse: Barn swallow, with the Estonian landscape in the background..
The kroon was reintroduced as Estonia's currency on 20 June 1992, replacing the Soviet ruble at a rate of 1 kroon = 10 rubles. (Each person was able to change maximally 1500 rubles to 150 kroons.) Initially, the Estonian kroon was pegged to the Deutsche Mark at a rate of 8 krooni = 1 Deutsche Mark. After the introduction of the euro the fixed exchange rate of 1.95583 DEM to EUR led to an exchange rate of 15.64664 krooni to the euro. On 27 June 2004, as Estonia joined the ERM II-system, the central parity of the Estonian kroon was revalued (by less than 0.001%) to 15.6466 krooni per euro. On 1 January 2011 the euro replaced the kroon as the official currency of Estonia. The kroon circulated alongside the euro until 15 January 2011 at which point it ceased to be legal tender. The Eesti Pank will indefinitely exchange kroon banknotes and coins in any amount into euro.From the beginning of 2012 kroons can be exchanged for euros at the Eesti Pank Museum at the central exchange rate (1 euro = 15.6466 Estonian kroons) and without any service fee, in unlimited amounts and for an unlimited period of time.