Euro coins

The coins of the euro have a common side, and a national side. The latter is designed by the respective national ESCB printer. In addition, three European microstates with currency agreements (Monaco, San Marino and the Vatican City State) issue their own coins.

One euro is divided into 100 cents (often written as decimals of one euro, e.g. €0.10) and there are eight different denominations of euro coins.

Current series




Common side

All coins have a common reverse side showing how much the coin is worth, with a design by Belgian designer Luc Luycx. The design of the 1-, 2-, and 5-cent coins symbolises Western Europe's place in the world as a whole.

The coins were minted in several of the participating countries, many using blanks produced at Birmingham Mint, Birmingham, England. A problem has arisen in differentiation of coins made using similar blanks and minting techniques. The Turkish 1 Lira coin resembles very much the 2-euro coin in both weight and size, and both coins seem to be recognised and accepted by slot machines as being a 2-euro coin, which is roughly worth 4 times more. However there are now vending machines which have been upgraded to refuse the 1-lira coin.

Current design

In 2007, a new design was introduced to reflect the enlargement in 2004. The design still retains all elements of the original designs, including the twelve stars, however the map of the fifteen states is replaced by one showing the whole of Europe 'as a continent' without borders. The vertical ridges only appear over the 'sea'.

Cyprus is shown several kilometres north west of its real position in order to include it on the map. The original proposal from the European Commission was to include Turkey on the map, however this design was rejected by Council. This was seen as a political snub by the Council to Turkey's EU membership ambitions.

The first issue of these coins were minted in 2006, by the Mint of Finland ltd, for the Slovenian euro coins. These coins came into circulation in 2007 and will be compulsory for existing members to issue from 2008 onwards. The one, two and five cent coins remained unchanged with the Commission stating that they remained unaffected as they show Europe's place in the world, even though the EU 15 are still highlighted on the map.

1999-2006 design



The original designs of the 10-, 20-, and 50-cent coins showed the outline of each of the EU-15 member states. This meant that each state was shown as separate from the others, though, thus giving Europe an appearance of being formed of many islands. EU members which were not part of the eurozone (the United Kingdom, Sweden and Denmark) were also depicted.

On the €1 and €2 coins, the landmass appeared more cohesive although borders were indicated. The vertical ridges also passed through some non-participating countries. As in current issues, all coins featured 12 stars in their design. Pre-2007 issues are legal tender throughout the eurozone, including new member Slovenia.

The year featured in the coins can date back to 1999, when the currency was formally established (only on French, Spanish, Belgian, Finnish and Dutch coins print 1999). These countries traditionally put on the coin the year when it was minted rather than the year in which it was put into circulation.

National sides


Coins have a common side, and a national side (pictured) designed by the respective national printer.

The obverse side varies from state to state, with each member allowed to choose their own design. Each of the eight coins can have the same design (such as Belgian coins), or can vary from each coin (such as Italian coins). In Monarchies, the national side usually features a portrait of the country's monarch, often in a design carried over from the former currency (such as Belgian coins). Republics tend to feature national monuments, symbols or stylised designs (such as French coins). Engravings on the edge of the two euro coin is also subject to national choice.

There are however some restrictions on the design, it must include twelve stars, the engravers initials and the year of issue. New issues must also include the name of the issuing country. It can't repeat the denomination of the coin or the word euro unless it is in a different alphabet (such as on Greek coins).[2] The national side is also restricted from changing until the end of 2008, unless a monarch depicted on a coin dies or abdicates (such as in the case of the Vatican's coins). Following 2004, states could also produce one €2 commemorative coin a year in limited numbers.

There are at present no plans to abolish the national designs in favour of a European one. However the Commission has proposed that the one, two and five cent coins have a common design to keep down costs.[4] Also, in 2007, all eurozone countries issued a near-identical commemorative coin to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the signature of the Treaties of Rome. These coins had the same design except for the name of the country and the language of the text used.

Though they are not members of the EU, Monaco, San Marino and Vatican City also have euro coins featuring a national side, but these only occasionally end up in general circulation as their scarcity leads to greater interest from coin collectors. Andorra is currently in talks to mint its own coin design.


Small-denomination coins



The one and two cent coins are not used in Finland and the Netherlands, but remain legal tender there

The one and two cent coins were initially introduced in order to ensure that the introduction of the euro was not used as an excuse by retailers to heavily round up prices. However, due to the cost of maintaining a circulation of low value coins, by business and the mints, Finland and the Netherlands have rounded up prices to the nearest five cents (Swedish rounding) while producing only a handful of those coins for collectors, rather than general circulation.

Despite this, the coins are still legal tender and produced outside these states, so if a customer with one cent coin minted elsewhere wishes to pay with it, they may. However, as the amount of non-national coinage in an EU member state is generally much lower than the amount of nationally-minted coinage, the number of 1- and 2-cent coins in circulation will be marginal and thus of little consequence to retailers.

The Finnish law, to round to five cents and not provide change in anything less, was issued in January 2002 before the coins were put into circulation. The Netherlands followed suit in September 2004 with Belgium making moves to in 2005. The Netherlands did so under pressure from retail businesses, who have claimed that dealing with 1- and 2-cent coins is too expensive. After a successful experiment in the city of Woerden in May 2004, retailers in the whole of the Netherlands have been permitted to round cash transactions to the nearest five cent amount since September 2004.

This is in part due to factors such as rising metal prices: The De Nederlandsche Bank calculated it would save $36 million a year by not using the smaller coins. Other countries such as Germany favoured retaining the coins due to their desired for 1.99 euro prices, which appears more attractive to the consumer than a 2 euro price. This is echoed by the European Central Bank itself which support the coins stating it allows businesses to calculate prices more exactly to attract consumers, such as 99 cents. According to a Eurobarometer survey of EU citizens, Germans are most sceptical about the removal of the one and two cents coins from complete circulation in the eurozone, however on average there is a majority for their removal (58% for the one cent coin and 52% for the two cent - in 2005). The Belgians are most supportive of their removal.

The 1, 2 and 5 cent coins account for approximately 80% of all new coins minted in the Eurozone. Due to the expense of producing such low value coinage, the Commission with some member states have proposed that costs could be cut by having a common design on both sides of these coins, rather than minting numerous different designs.