2 euro coin
| Value | 2 euro |
|---|---|
| Mass | 8.5 g |
| Diameter | 25.75 mm |
| Thickness | 2.20 mm |
| Edge | Edge lettering, fine milled. Exact design varies, see below. |
| Composition | Outer segment: copper-nickel. Inner segment: three layers: nickel brass, nickel, nickel brass. |
| Years of minting | 1999–present |
| Obverse | |
| Design | Numerous variations, see below. |
| Designer | Various |
| Design date | Various |
| Reverse | |
| Design | Map of Europe with the denomination shown in Latin characters |
| Designer | Luc Luycx |
| Design date | 2007 |
The 2 euro coin (€2) is the highest value euro coin and has been used since the introduction of the euro (in its cash form) in 2002. The coin is used in the 22 countries not including the vatican coin which have it as their sole currency (with 20 legally adopting it); with a population of about 332 million. The coin is made of two alloys: the inner part of nickel brass, the outer part of copper-nickel. All coins have a common reverse side and country-specific national sides. The coin has been used since 2002, with the present common side design dating from 2007.
The €2 coin is the coin subject to legal-tendercommemorative issues and hence there is a large number of national sides, including three issues of identical commemorative sides by all eurozone members.
The coin dates from 2002, when euro coins and notes were introduced in the 12 member eurozone and its related territories. The common side was designed by Luc Luycx, a Belgian artist who won a Europe-wide competition to design the new coins. The designs of the one and two-euro coins were intended to show the European Union (EU) as a whole with the then 15 countries more closely joined together than on the 10 to 50-cent coins (the 1-cent to 5-cent coins showed the EU as one, though intending to show its place in the world).
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. National designs were not allowed to change until the end of 2008, unless a monarch (whose portrait usually appears on the coins) dies or abdicates. 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 rule 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).
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