Frequently Asked Questions About The Euro Coins

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Frequently asked questions: Euro coins

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Frequently asked questions about the euro coins

Please read the following information before contacting the Bundesbank.

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• What value do coins minted in a particular year and mint error coins have?

  The Bundesbank is entrusted with the task of ensuring that sufficient cash is available for the execution of payments. It is not involved in the business of trading coins and therefore cannot provide any information regarding their collector's value.

  Various coin catalogues containing information on DM coins can be accessed in libraries or purchased from booksellers.

  These kinds of resources do not yet exist for suspected mint error euro coins. Such coins can, of course, be exchanged at their nominal value at all Bundesbank branches.

  DM coins

  • Frequently asked questions: DM coins
• Where are German euro coins minted/produced?

  As was previously the case for Deutsche Mark coins, German euro coins are minted in the five German coin mints. The coins can be distinguished by the mintmark. The total number of coins to be minted is split between the mints using a fixed allocation formula.

  Further details are provided in the “Euro coins” brochure.

  Coin mints in Germany
  Coin mint	Telephone	Mintmark	Website
  Staatliche Münze BerlinMolkenmarkt 210179 Berlin	030/23140-5	A	Visit website
  Bayerisches HauptmünzamtZamdorfer Straße 9281677 München	089/992690-0	D	Visit website
  Staatliche MünzenBaden-WürttembergPostfach 50 09 2970339 Stuttgart	0711/50941-0	F	Visit website
  Staatliche MünzenBaden-WürttembergPostfach 11 13 0876063 Karlsruhe	0721/9174-0	G	Visit website
  Hamburgische MünzeBei der Neuen Münze 1922145 Hamburg	040/428416-0	J	Visit website

• Which mints are responsible for producing the euro coins of the individual member states?

  Due to the fact that Germany is the only euro-area country which has several mints, the coins of other countries can usually be traced back to their mints by looking at their reverse, or “national” side. Some countries, however, have their euro coins minted in other countries. Luxemburg’s euro coins, for example, are minted in the Netherlands, Slovenia and Cyprus have their coins minted in Finland and French mints produce coins for Malta. The small states Monaco, San Marino and the Vatican City State, which have signed agreements with the EU entitling them to issue euro coins, have had their euro coins minted in France and Italy. 

  Futher information can be found in the brochure on euro coins "Euro-Münzen" (in German only)

  Mints and mintmarks
  Country	Mint	Mintmark	First year
  Andorra (2014)	Pessac (F) and Madrid	None	2014
  Belgium	Brussels	None	1999, 2000, 2001
  Estonia (2011)	Helsinki	None	2011
  Germany	Berlin	A	2002
  Germany	Munich	D	2002
  Germany	Stuttgart	F	2002
  Germany	Karlsruhe	G	2002
  Germany	Hamburg	J	2002
  Finland	Helsinki	None	1999, 2000, 2001
  France	Pessac	Cornucopia	1999, 2000, 2001
  Greece	Athens	Floral design	2002
  Ireland	Dublin	None	2002
  Italy	Rome	R	2002
  Latvia (2014)	Stuttgart	None	2014
  Lithuania (2015)	Vilnius	LMK in circle	2015
  Luxembourg	Utrecht (NL)	Mercury's wand	2002
  Monaco	Pessac (F)	Cornucopia	2001
  Netherlands	Utrecht	Mercury's wand	1999, 2000, 2001
  Austria	Vienna	None	2002
  Portugal	Lisbon	INCM	2002
  San Marino	Rome (I)	None	2002
  Spain	Madrid	M with crown	1999, 2000, 2001
  Vatican	Rome (I)	None	2002
  Slovenia (2007)	Helsinki	Fi	2007
  Malta (2008)	Pessac (F)	F	2008
  Cyprus (2008)	Helsinki-Vantaa	Fi	2008
  Slovakia (2009)	Kremnica	MK in a circle	2009

  Download

  • Die Euro-Münzen 26.03.2025
• How many euro coins were minted to meet the initial demand?

  The following table shows the initial supply of euro coins in the euro area.

  Initial supply of euro coins in the euro area
  Country	€2,00	€1,00	€0,50	€0,20	€0,10	€0,05	€0,02	€0,01
  Belgium	120	160	197	181	327	300	337	335
  Germany	1,000	1,700	1,600	1,600	3,300	2,300	1,800	3,700
  Estonia (2011)	11	16	20	25	30	30	30	32
  Finland	50	60	72	190	285	355	23	35
  France	470	820	650	800	1,080	1,130	1,500	1,700
  Greece	136	98	121	309	214	240	143	73
  Ireland	45	102	82	138	114	144	176	277
  Italy	310	950	1,100	1,400	900	1,380	900	1,00
  Latvia (2014)	20	30	25	35	40	50	80	120
  Lithuania (2015)	25	35	40	35	35	60	70	70
  Luxembourg	10	10	10	10	20	20	20	20
  Monaco	0,913	0,979	0,303	0,369	0,310	0,310	0,376	0,330
  Netherlands	175	200	350	350	375	425	425	500
  Austria	150	200	160	190	400	140	210	350
  Portugal	40	68	152	116	220	196	272	232
  San Marino	0,256	0,361	0,230	0,302	0,120	0,120	0,120	0,120
  Spain	190	435	1,264	901	901	1,083	1,500	811
  Vatican	0,075	0,075	0,075	0,075	0,075	0,075	0,075	0,075
  Slovenia (2007)	21	30	32	37	43	44	44	45
  Malta (2008)	10	14	15	40	41	34	36	10
  Cyprus (2008)	16	28	30	65	70	60	100	26
  Slovakia (2009)	35	42.6	54	63	68	78	74	84.4
  Total	2,790	4,935	5,910	6,416	8,389	7,960	7,591	9,231
  The figures indicate the volume of coins minted in millions.

  For further information on the initial supply of coins and the subsequent minting volumes in each of the participating states, please contact the monetary authorities concerned. You can find further details on the minting statistics in Germany under "Orders to mint coins for circulation".

  Download

  • Vom Bundesministerium der Finanzen erteilte Aufträge zur Prägung von Euro-Umlaufmünzen 08.12.2025 | 227 KB, PDF
• If the lettering on the rim of the €2 coin is the right way up when the eagle/the denomination is uppermost or if the colour of the coin is slightly different from the others (eg reddish), does it mean that the coin has been defectively minted?

  Which way up the lettering is on the rim of the coin is completely irrelevant as far as the authenticity of the coin is concerned. It simply has to do with the production process. The lettering is stamped on the rim before the denomination and the motif are imprinted on the obverse and reverse of the coins. When the blank coins reach the stage of having the denomination and the motif stamped on them, the large number of coins involved and the industrial manufacturing process make it impossible to ensure that the blanks are all lying the same way round.

  The manufacturing process itself and the manner in which the coins have been stored may lead to certain minor differences in the colour of the coins. However, this has no effect on the status of the coins as legal tender.

  As coins are manufactured industrially, the coin colour may vary slightly owing to the method of manufacturing and to current storage practices. This does not, however, affect the status of the coins as legal tender.

• Are there any plans to mint €5 coins?

  In the mid-1990s the cut-off between regular issue coins and banknotes was set between €2 and €5 at a European level, as there seemed to be no reason to mint coins for denominations above €2. This is mainly because no regular issue coins with such a high nominal value were used in any European country. There are therefore no plans to introduce €5 regular issue coins at present or in the foreseeable future.

  Regardless of this situation the Federal Government has announced an addition to the coin collection programme for the first half of 2016: an innovative €5 "Planet Earth" collector coin.

  External link

  in German only

  • Welt-Neuheit: 5-Euro-Sammlermünze "Planet Erde" mit blauem Ring

    bundesfinanzministerium.de

• What are the technical specifications of the euro coins?

  The table below provides an overview of the technical characteristics of euro coins with information regarding the diameter, thickness, weight, shape, colour and edge inscriptions of the coins.

  technical features of the euro coins
  Denomination	Diameter	Edge thickness (benchmark)	Weight	Shape	Colour	Edge design
  1 cent	16.25 mm	1.67 mm	2.30 g	Round	Red	Smooth
  2 cent	18.75 mm	1.67 mm	3.06 g	Round	Red	Smooth with a grove
  5 cent	21.25 mm	1.67 mm	3.92 g	Round	Red	Smooth
  10 cent	19.75 mm	1.93 mm	4.10 g	Round	Yellow	Fine scallops
  20 cent	22.25 mm	2.14 mm	5.74 g	Round with seven grooves (Spanish flower shape)	Yellow	Smooth with 7 grooves
  50 cent	24.25 mm	2.38 mm	7.80 g	Round	Yellow	Fine scallops
  1 euro	23.25 mm	2.33mm	7.50 g	Round	Outside yellow; inside white	Interrupted milled
  2 euro	25.75 mm	2.20mm	8.50 g	Round	Outside white; inside yellow	Lettering (varies from country to country), fine milled

  Below you will find additional information on the composition of euro coins.

  • €2: outer ring - cupronickel; inner section (three layers) - nickel-brass, nickel, nickel-brass (slightly magnetic)
  • €1: outer ring - nickel-nickel, inner section (three layers) - cupronickel, nickel, cupronickel (slightly magnetic)
  • 50 cent: copper, aluminium, zinc, tin alloy = "Nordic gold" (non-magnetic)
  • 20 cent: copper, aluminium, zinc, tin alloy = "Nordic gold" (non-magnetic)
  • 10 cent: copper, aluminium, zinc, tin alloy = "Nordic gold" (non-magnetic)
  • 5 cent: copper-coated steel (highly magnetic)
  • 2 cent: copper-coated steel (highly magnetic)
  • 1 cent: copper-coated steel (highly magnetic)
• There is a symbol in the lower right-hand quarter of the obverse side of all euro coins that resembles the figure "4". What does it stand for?

  The symbol often mistaken for the number '4' is actually two letter 'Ls' intertwined. Luc Luycx, an employee at the Royal Belgian Mint who designed the euro coins' common face, was permitted to work his initials into the chosen design by adding this symbol to the bottom right-hand quarter of their front side.

• Who decides on the design of euro coins? Can individual countries change the national design on the reverse side of their coins at any time?

  The competent authorities in the respective country are still responsible for deciding which images appear on the reverse side of the coins, as coinage remains a national matter. Individual countries can therefore independently change the image on the reverse side of their coins, provided they comply with certain design rules that have been agreed within the EU. These changes must be announced through national channels as well as in the Official Journal of the European Union.

• How were the motifs for the reverse sides of German euro coins selected?

  The decision in Germany regarding the design of the reverse sides was made at the beginning of July 1997. In line with the decision made at European level, a jury comprising representatives of various ministries, mint directors, sculptors, historians and museum directors agreed to separate the coins into the following three groups.

  • €1 and €2
  • 10, 20 and 50 cents
  • 1, 2 and 5 cents

  It was decided that each group would have a common motif. With regard to the content, the jury selected symbols which, in their own way, would all be recognised as typically German by Germans and non-Germans alike. The following motifs were thus suggested:

  • The eagle, a traditional German national emblem, was suggested for the €1 and €2 coins
  • The symbolic Brandenburg Gate was suggested for the coin denominations 10, 20 and 50 cents
  • An oak twig was suggested for the dominations 1,2 and 5 cents because it was reminiscent of the earlier pfennig coins.

  The Federal Government approved this proposal in its decision dated 17 September 1997. The reverse sides of the German euro coins were designed by Sneschana Russewa-Hoyer and Heinz Hoyer (the German eagle), Reinhart Heinsdorff (the Brandenburg Gate) and Professor Rolf Lederbogen (the oak twig).

  The common front side of the euro coins was modified in 2007 in accordance with a decision made by the European Council to reflect the accession of additional countries to the euro area.

• Why did Andorra, Monaco, San Marino and the Vatican also introduce euro coins with their own national reverse sides?

  As well as the 20 countries belonging to the euro area, the small states Andorra, Monaco, San Marino and the Vatican City State were given the right to mint and issue fixed contingents of euro coins with their own national reverse sides.

  Special agreements were reached with these countries because of their previous exchange rate regimes and close financial ties with France, Italy and Spain. Agreements with other countries are not envisaged. Based on the volumes minted by France, Italy and Spain, the four small countries minted the following initial supply volumes (amount in thousands of coins).

   

  Initial amounts of the four small states
  Country	€2,00	€1,00	€0,50	€0,20	€0,10	€0,05	€0,02	€0,01
  Andorra	500	650	500	1000	1000	1000	150	150
  Monaco	913	979	303	369	310	310	376	330
  San Marino	256	361	230	302	120	120	120	120
  Vatican	75	75	75	75	75	75	75	75

   

• Does the Bundesbank sort the euro coins according to the national motifs and return the coins to the countries of issue?

  Given that regular issue euro coins are legal tender in all euro-area countries, it is neither obligatory nor necessary to transport coins back to issuing countries.

• Are there any regulations restricting the amount of euro coins to be accepted when making a payment?

  Under European law, no one in the euro area is obliged to accept more than 50 coins in a single payment except for the issuing authority and persons to be designated in national legislation. No value is associated with this rule.

  In addition, in Germany, the acceptance obligation of German collector coins is limited to €200 per payment. In addition, the restriction to 50 coins also applies to payments made from circulation coins and German collector coins.

  These restrictions do not apply to the Deutsche Bundesbank: It accepts euro coins and German euro collector coins in an unlimited number and unlimited amount as payment means or exchanges them into other legal means of payment. However, special requirements apply to submissions of euro coins by business clients to the Deutsche Bundesbank. This and further information on this topic can be found in the "Cash services" section.

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