2 cent euro coin
| European Union | |
| Value | 0.02 euro |
|---|---|
| Mass | 3.06 g |
| Diameter | 18.75 mm |
| Thickness | 1.67 mm |
| Edge | Smooth with continuous groove |
| Composition | Copper-plated steel |
| Years of minting | Since 1999 |
| Obverse | |
| Design | 24 variations, see below |
| Designer | Various |
| Design date | Various |
| Reverse | |
| Design | Globe with the EU-15 highlighted next to the denomination shown in Latin characters |
| Designer | Luc Luycx |
| Design date | 2002 |
The 2 cent euro coin (€0.02) has a value of one-fiftieth of a euro and is composed of copper-plated steel. All coins have a common reverse and country-specific (national) obverse. The coin has been used since 2002 and was not redesigned in 2007 as were the higher value coins.
The coin dates from 2002, when euro coins and banknotes were introduced in the 12 member eurozone and its related territories. Despite this, a few coins were issued beginning in 1999. The common side was designed by Luc Luycx, a Belgian artist who won a Europe-wide competition to design the new coins. The design of the 1 to 5 cent coins was intended to show the European Union's (EU) place in the world (relative to Africa and Asia) as opposed to the one and two euro coins showing the 15 states as one and the 10 to 50 cent coins showing separate EU states.
The national sides, then 15 (eurozone + Monaco, San Marino and the Vatican who could mint their own) were each designed according to national competitions, though to specifications which applied to all coins, such as the requirement of including twelve stars (see euro coins for more). National designs were not allowed to change until the end of 2008, unless a monarch (whose portrait usually appears on the coins) died or abdicated. This happened in Monaco and the Vatican City, resulting in three new designs in circulation (the Vatican had an interim design until the new Pope was selected). National designs have seen some changes due to new rules stating that national designs should include the name of the issuing country (Finland and Belgium both do not show their name, and hence have made minor changes).
As the EU's membership has since expanded (in 2004 and 2007), with further expansions envisaged, the common face of all euro coins from the value of 10 cent and above was redesigned in 2007 to show a new map. The 1 to 5 cent coins, however, did not change, as the highlighting of the old members over the globe was so faint it was not considered worth the cost. But new national coin designs were added in 2007 with the entry of Slovenia, in 2008 with Cyprus and Malta, in 2009 with Slovakia, in 2011 with Estonia, in 2014 with Latvia, and in 2015 with Lithuania.
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