Euro coins

     From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The euro (EUR or €) is the single currency for most nations within the European Union. Euro coins and banknotes (see euro banknotes) came into distribution on January 1 2002, but the year imprinted on the coins can date back to 1999, when the currency was formally established (only on French, Spanish, Belgian, Finnish and Dutch coins). The fact five countries have coins with years going back to 1999 is because due to the enormous amount of coins needed, minting of coins started back in 1999 (for all countries), and the five mentioned countries traditionally put the year the coin was minted on the coin, instead of the year in which the coin was put into circulation.

One euro is divided into 100 cents and there are eight different denominations:

Description of euro coinage

Denomination	Diameter	Thickness	Weight	Composition	Edge
1 cent | € 0.01	16.25 mm	1.67 mm	2.30 g	Steel with a copper cover	Smooth
2 cent | € 0.02	18.75 mm	1.67 mm	3.06 g	Steel with a copper cover	Smooth with a single groove
5 cent | € 0.05	21.25 mm	1.67 mm	3.92 g	Steel with a copper cover	Smooth
10 cent | € 0.10	19.75 mm	1.93 mm	4.10 g	Copper alloy (Nordic gold)	Scalloped (ribbed edge)
20 cent | € 0.20	22.25 mm	2.14 mm	5.74 g	Copper alloy (Nordic Gold)	Smooth with seven indentations ("Spanish flower")
50 cent | € 0.50	24.25 mm	2.38 mm	7.80 g	Copper alloy (Nordic Gold)	Scalloped (ribbed edge)
1 euro | € 1.00	23.25 mm	2.33 mm	7.50 g	Inner: copper-nickel alloy Outer: nickel brass	Six alternating segments, three smooth, three finely ribbed
2 euro | € 2.00	25.75 mm	2.20 mm	8.50 g	Inner: nickel brass Outer: copper-nickel alloy	Finely ribbed with edge lettering

All coins have a common front side showing how much the coin is worth, with a design by Belgian designer Luc Luyckx. The design of the 1, 2 and 5 cent coins symbolises Europe's place in the world as a whole. The image on the 10, 20 and 50 cent coins shows the EU member states coming together (note that the EU members who are at this time not part of the euro are also depicted). Finally, the 1 and 2 euro coins depict a Europe without frontiers. All coins feature 12 stars in their design.

Table of contents

1 Depiction of euro coinage - Reverse side 2 Design changes 3 Small denomination coins 4 External links

Depiction of euro coinage - Reverse side

€ 0.01	€ 0.02	€ 0.05
€ 0.10	€ 0.20	€ 0.50
€ 1.00	€ 2.00

Each country participating in the euro has its own design on the national side of the coin. These designs vary from simply depicting the same design on all coins (e.g. Belgium) to a different design for every coin (e.g. Italy). However, all coins again feature 12 stars in some way or another on this side as well. To view each country's national sides, please choose from the links below, which are listed in the order preferred by the European Central Bank (alphabetically by their names in their native languages).

• Belgian euro coins
• German euro coins
• Greek euro coins
• Spanish euro coins
• French euro coins
• Irish euro coins
• Italian euro coins
• Luxembourg euro coins
• Dutch euro coins
• Austrian euro coins
• Portuguese euro coins
• Finnish euro coins

Though they are not members of the EU, Monaco, San Marino and Vatican City (but not Andorra) also have euro coins featuring a national side, but these are not expected to end up in general circulation, but rather are more of interest to coin collectors. The coins from Monaco feature the royal family's coat of arms and seal and the portrait of the current ruler, Prince Rainier III; those from San Marino have various towers and public buildings from the small nation on them as well as the national coat of arms and the Vatican coins present the portrait of Pope John Paul II. Having coins with the effigy of a religious leader accepted as legal tender caused some controversy in certain countries such as France.

The coins were minted in several of the participating countries, many using blanks produced at Birmingham Mint, Birmingham, England.

Design changes

No further changes will be made to the common side of the coins until 2007 at the earliest. It is expected that eventually the 10 new E.U. members will be added to the common face of the euro coins (they are out of date since May 1, 2004).

Member states may not change their national reverse for five years. There are some exceptions, though. If the head of state of a country dies or abdicates, coins depicting the new one may be minted.

Regarding the minting of commemorative coins, the European Commission lifted the ban in late 2003. From that time any eurozone country may issue commemorative €2 coins. These coins will be valid through all the eurozone.

Greece has been the first country to issue this kind of coins. The €2 coin will commemorate the 2004 Olympic Games. See Greek euro coins for more details.

Small denomination coins

Finland does not use the one and two cent coins in circulation. The Netherlands are also considering decommissioning the one and two cent coins, pressured by the retail business who claim dealing with one and two cent coins costs them too much money. As of May 2004, shops in Woerden are running tests in which all cash transactions will be rounded to the nearest five cent amount.

Nevertheless, if a country decides not to mint these denominations, coins from other member states would remain legal tender. This is the case of Finland in present times.

However, as the "foreign" monetary mass is lower than the internal, the number of 1 and 2 ct. coins would stay marginal, hencefore, not being a great concern for most retailers.

External links

• European Central Bank (www.euro.ecb.int)
• Euro Coins (including design fantasies for the UK, Denmark and Sweden)
• Euro Coins (www.coins-and-notes.com)

Newsgroups:

• news://europa.union.euro
• news://rec.collecting.coins