This coin is dedicated to the Estonian author Eduard Vilde (1865 – 1933) on the 150^th anniversary of his birth. Vilde was one of the most revered figures in Estonian literature and is generally credited as being the country’s first professional writer. As well as Vilde being considered a pioneer of critical realism in Estonian literature he is also remembered as a diplomat having served as Estonian ambassador in Berlin for several years after Estonia’s independence.

Vilde grew up on the farm in Pudivere, Viru County in what was the Governorate of Estonia, then part of the Russian Empire where his father worked. Vilde began working as a journalist in 1883 and spent a great deal of his life traveling abroad. He lived for some time in Berlin in the 1890s, and was influenced by materialism and socialism. At the same time, Vilde’s writings were also guided by the realism and naturalism of the French writer Émile Zola (1840–1902). In addition to being a prolific writer, Vilde was also an outspoken critic of Tsarist rule in Estonia and of the German landowners who owned extensive estates and who exported substantial amounts of wealth out of the country. Vilde spent the last years of his life editing and revising an enormous volume of his collected works. He died on the 26^th December 1933 and is buried in the capital, Tallinn.

The coin, designed by map maker and graphic artist Mait Luidalepp is produced by the Mint of Romania on behalf of the Bank of Estonia.

The reverse design uses titles from his works such as "The Inscrutable Mystery", "The Peasant War at Mahtra" and "The Man in the Black Cloak" to form a crossword puzzle type of motif. The design also includes the denomination of €10 alongside the titles.

The obverse bears the coat of arms of the Republic of Estonia along with the year of issue below the crest.