There are eight euro coin denominations, ranging from one cent to two euros. The coins first came into use in 1999. They have a common reverse, portraying a map of Europe, but each country in the eurozone has its own design on the obverse, which means that each coin has a variety of different designs in circulation at once. Four European microstates that are not members of the European Union use the euro as their currency and also have the right to mint coins with their own designs on the obverse side.
Belgian euro coins feature only a single design for all eight coins: the portrait or effigy of the King of the Belgians. Previously, all Belgian euros depicted King Albert II and his royal monogram. Current coins depict King Philippe. Also part of the design by Jan Alfons Keustermans are the 12 stars of the EU and the year of imprint.
German euro coins have three separate designs for the three series of coins. The 1-cent, 2-cent and 5-cent coins were designed by Rolf Lederbogen, the design for the 10-cent, 20-cent and 50-cent coins were designed by Reinhard Heinsdorff and the 1- and 2-euro coins were done by Heinz Hoyer and Sneschana Russewa-Hoyer. Featured in all designs are the 12 stars of the EU and the year of minting.
Greek euro coins feature a unique design for each of the eight coins. They were all designed by Georgios Stamatopoulos with the minor coins depicting Greek ships, the middle ones portraying famous Greeks and the two large denominations showing images of Greek history and mythology. All designs feature the 12 stars of the EU, the year of imprint and a tiny symbol of the Bank of Greece. Uniquely, the value of the coins is expressed on the national side in the Greek alphabet, as well as being on the common side in the Roman alphabet. The euro cent is known as the lepto in Greek.
Irish euro coins all share the same design by Jarlath Hayes, that of the harp, a traditional symbol for Ireland since the Middle Ages, based on that of the Brian Boru harp, housed in Trinity College, Dublin. The same harp is used as on the official seals of the Taoiseach, and government ministers and the Seal of the President of Ireland. The coins' design also features the 12 stars of the EU, the year of issue and the Irish name for Ireland, "Éire", in a traditional Gaelic script.
Finnish euro coins feature three designs. Heikki Häiväoja provided the design for the 1 cent – 50 cent coins, Pertti Mäkinen provided the design for the 1 euro coin, and Raimo Heino provided the design for the 2 euro coin, which shows cloudberry, the golden berry of northern Finland. All designs feature the 12 stars of the EU and the year of imprint.
Vatican euro coins are issued by the Philatelic and Numismatic Office of the Vatican City State and minted by Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato (IPZS), in Rome, Italy. The euro is the official currency of the Vatican City, although Vatican City is not a member of the Eurozone or the European Union.
Philippine peso coins are issued by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas for circulation in the Philippines and are currently available in seven denominations. The Philippine peso has been in use since Spanish rule.
There have been three sets of coins in Ireland since independence. In all three, the coin showed a Celtic harp on the obverse. The pre-decimal coins of the Irish pound had realistic animals on the reverse; the decimal coins retained some of these but featured ornamental birds on the lower denominations; and the euro coins used the common design of the euro currencies. The pre-decimal and original decimal coins were of the same dimensions as the same-denomination British coins, as the Irish pound was in currency union with the British pound sterling. British coins were widely accepted in Ireland, and conversely to a lesser extent. In 1979 Ireland joined the Exchange Rate Mechanism and the Irish pound left parity with sterling; coin designs introduced after this differed between the two countries.
The San Francisco Mint is a branch of the United States Mint and was opened in 1854 to serve the gold mines of the California Gold Rush. It quickly outgrew its first building and moved into a new one in 1874. When they outgrew that building, they moved to the current building in 1937.
Slovenian euro coins were first issued for circulation on 1 January 2007 and a unique feature is designed for each coin. The design of approximately 230 million Slovenian euro coins was unveiled on 7 October 2005. The designers were Miljenko Licul, Maja Licul and Janez Boljka. The Mint of Finland was chosen to mint the coins through an international tender in 2007.
Cypriot euro coins feature three separate designs for the three series of coins. Cyprus has been a member of the European Union since 1 May 2004, and is a member of the Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union. It has completed the third stage of the EMU and adopted the euro as its official currency on 1 January 2008.
Maltese euro coins feature three separate designs for the three series of coins. Malta has been a member of the European Union since 1 May 2004, and is a member of the Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union. Malta adopted the euro as its official currency on 1 January 2008, replacing the Maltese lira. For a period of one month until 31 January, there was a dual circulation for Malta where the Euro and Maltese lira were used alongside each other.
The Swiss franc has been the currency of Liechtenstein since 1920. The Swiss franc is legal tender since Liechtenstein is in a customs and monetary union with Switzerland. The 1980 treaty between Switzerland and Liechtenstein allows Liechtenstein to mint limited amounts of Swiss francs with a Liechtenstein inscription, but only in the form of commemorative coins, and they are not allowed to issue banknotes.
The Australian five-cent coin is the lowest-denomination circulating coin of the decimal Australian dollar introduced in 14 February 1966, replacing the pre-decimal sixpence. It has been the lowest-denomination coin in general circulation since the withdrawal of the one-cent and two-cent coins in 1992.
The 2 euro coin (€2) is the highest-value euro coin and has been used since the introduction of the euro in 2002. The coin is used in 22 countries with a collective population of about 341 million. The coin is made of two alloys: the inner part of nickel brass, the outer part of copper-nickel. All coins have a common reverse side and country-specific national sides. The coin has been used since 2002, with the present common side design dating from 2007.
Coins of the Australian dollar were introduced on 14 February 1966, although they did not at that time include the one-dollar or two-dollar coins. The dollar was equivalent in value to 10 shillings in the former currency.
Before the introduction of the euro, the current eurozone members issued their own individual national coinage, most of which featured mint marks, privy marks and/or mint master marks. These marks have been continued as a part of the national designs of the euro coins, as well. This article serves to list the information about the various types of identifying marks on euro coins, including engraver and designer initials and the unique edge inscriptions found on the €2 coins.
This article covers the gold and silver issues of the euro commemorative coins. It also includes some rare cases of bimetal collector coins.
Euro gold and silver commemorative coins are special euro coins minted and issued by member states of the Eurozone. They are minted mainly in gold and silver, although other precious metals are also used on rare occasions. Austria was one of the first twelve countries in the Eurozone to introduce the euro (€), on 1 January 2002. Since then, the Austrian Mint has been minting both normal issues of Austrian euro coins and commemorative euro coins in gold and silver.
