Links to national central bank and mint websites
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At present in European Union (EU) we can observe the process of mixing / circulating the different coins from the 12 Euro countries.
Each country participating in the euro has its own design on the national side of the coin and its own issue dates.
Private mints (e.g. International Numismatic Agency in the United Kingdom or Europ-Mint in Switzerland), as well as individuals, have created some specimen euro coins intended for collectors.
A legacy of old national practice is the minting of silver and gold commemorative coins. Unlike normal issues, these coins are not legal tender in all the eurozone, but in the country where the coin was issued.
Our target is to record the mintage / coinage / euro coin mockups for any existent and future euro coin issue.
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The euro (EUR or €) is the currency of 12 European Union (EU) member states: (Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain; three European micro-states: (Monaco, San Marino and the Holy See – Vatican City), as well as EU institutions.
Euro coins and banknotes (see euro banknotes) came into circulation on January 1, 2002.
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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.

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Spanish euro coins feature three different designs for each of the three series of coins. The minor series of 1, 2 and 5 cent coins were designed by Garcilaso Rollán, the middle series of 10, 20, and 50 cent coins by Begoña Castellanos and the two major coins feature the portrait or effigy of King Juan Carlos of Spain by the hand of Luis José Diaz. All designs feature the 12 stars of the EU and the year of minting.

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Portuguese euro coins show three different designs for each of the three series of coins. However, they are quite similar in that all contain old royal mints and seals within a circle of seven castles and five coats of arms and the word “Portugal”. Also featured in the designs, all done by Vitor Manuel Fernandes dos Santos, are the 12 stars of the EU and the year of minting.

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Dutch euro coins have two designs by Bruno Ninaber van Eyben, both of which feature a portrait or effigy of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands. All coins share the 12 stars of the EU and the year of imprint in their design.
The country is considering decommissioning the one and two cent coins.

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Luxembourg euro coins feature three different designs, though they all contain the portrait or effigy of Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg. The designs, by Yvette Gastauer-Claire, also contain the 12 stars of the EU flag, the year of imprint and the name of the country “Lëtzebuerg” in the local language. Luxembourg does not mint its own coins, they are therefore produced in the Netherlands.
As it is the first time that the Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg figures on the coins, his head is turned to the left. On other coins, containing the portrait of the head of the country, the head is turned to the right (meaning that its not the first time coins are mint with the portrait).

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Italian euro coins all have a design unique to one coin , though there is a common theme of famous Italian works of art from one of Italy’s renowned artists. Each coin is designed by a different designer, from the 1 cent to the 2 euro coin they are: Eugenio Driutti, Luciana De Simoni, Ettore Lorenzo Frapiccini, Claudia Momoni, Maria Angela Cassol, Roberto Mauri, Laura Cretara and Maria Carmela Colaneri. All designs feature the 12 stars of the EU, the year of imprint and the overlapping letters “RI” for Repubblica Italiana (Italian Republic). There are no Italian euro coins dated earlier than 2002, even if they were imprinted earlier for sure, as they were first distributed to the public in December 2001.

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Irish euro coins all share the same design by the hand of 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, and said to have once been owned by ancient High King of Ireland, Brian Boru. The same harp is used as the official Irish state symbol, the Great Seal of Ireland. The coins’ design also features the 12 stars of the EU, the year of imprint and the Irish language word for Ireland, ”Éire”, in the traditional Gaelic script alphabet.

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Greek euro coins feature a unique design for every one of the eight coins. They were all designed by Georgios Stamatopoulos with the minor coins depicting Greek ships, the middle ones famous Greeks and the two large denominations examples of Greek history and mythology. All designs feature the 12 stars of the EU and the year of imprint. Unique to the national side of Greek coins is that the value of the coin is expressed in the Greek alphabet. Also, the euro cent is called the lepton (λεπτο) in Greek, unlike other languages which borrowed the word cent.
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German euro coins have three separate designs for the three series of coins. The 1, 2 and 5 cent coins were designed by Rolf Lederbogen, the design for the 10, 20 and 50 cent coins is by the hand of Reinhart 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 imprint.


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French euro coins feature three separate designs for the three series of coins. The minor series was designed by Fabienne Courtiade, the middle one by Laurent Jorio and the major two coins are by Joaquim Jimenez. All designs share the 12 stars of the EU and the year of imprint as well as the letters “RF” for République Française (French Republic).


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Finnish euro coins have three designs, though two of them are each found on one coin only. The design for the minor and middle series of coins is by Heikki Häiväoja, the design for the 1 euro coin was done by Pertti Mäkinen and the national side of the 2 euro coin is by the hand of Raimo Heino. All designs feature the 12 stars of the EU and the year of imprint.


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Belgian euro coins feature only a single design for all eight coins: the portrait or effigy of King Albert II of Belgium and his royal monogram. Also part of the design by Jan Alfons Keustermans are the 12 stars of the EU and the year of imprint.

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