New German €5 "Planet Earth" Coin

Today a new 5 euro coin was issued in Germany. Until last year we had €10 collector coins, now it's €5 and €20 instead. Both denominations are issued at face; the 20ers are silver, the fivers are ... cool.

They continue the bimetallic concept that we know from the €1 and €2 coins but consist of three "zones": The center and the outer part are separated by a blue polymer ring. Composition of the two Cu-Ni parts: Cu75Ni25 and Cu81Ni19. The colored ring comes in various shades of blue, depending on which of the five mints made the coin.

The theme of the piece, designed by Stefan Klein and Olaf Neumann, is the Blue Planet Earth, and that (Blauer Planet Erde) is also the edge inscription. The eagle side is based on a design by Alina Hoyer. Mintage of the regular "at face" version is 1.5 million; there will also be a surcharged proof like version with a mintage of 250,000.

Christian

 

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I ordered the PL version a while ago but had to get the regular one at our local Bundesbank branch office today. They have a strict limit of one coin per customer per day, and waiting in the fairly long line took about 20 minutes.

The image above shows, surprise, parts of our planet surrounded by other planets and stars. Below is the other side, combined with an image that shows the polymer ring and (coin on neon tube) its translucent effect. A better photographer could do a better job, I know, but you get the idea ...

Christian

 

I had to wait one and a half hour in the EZB branch in Karlsruhe this morning.
But it's a pretty cool thing

 

I don't especially like the "metal and plastic" construction idea, but I do like the idea of a coin that generates long lines at banks!

 

At what temp will that polymer melt?

These collector/commemorative coins don't use the common side?

 

Commemorative coins are €2 pieces with the standard common (map) side and a theme specific obverse. This piece is a collector coin and, like all "non-standard" pieces (25 ct, €2.50, etc.), legal tender in the issuing member state only.

Guess that the hype is due to the new composition, to a lot of advertising and reporting - and to the fact that we have a "fiver" again. I like the idea and the design, but this will not turn into a circulation coin ...

Christian

 

This article has several photos from Berlin, Frankfurt, etc. with people waiting in those lines. In Berlin they apparently had quite a bit of rain, and yet collectors wanted this thing. http://www.stern.de/wirtschaft/geld...it-schlange-fuer-neuen-heiermann-6795592.html (Text in German, but the photos speak for themselves ...)

Christian

 

What are the charging for this coin, in $US? Thank you.

 

It' s about 5 Dollars and 60 cents.

 

For simple stuff like that, people do not even have to use a dedicated currency converter. A mere Google search like "5 eur in usd" would yield the result.

Oh, and - a friend of mine just called me; he tried to get one today, at his local Bundesbank branch office, as he was busy yesterday. Nah, gone, he said ...

Christian

 

Thank you. I meant to obtain it here in the US and did the coin have an additional cost as do the USA commemorative coins.

 

If you want the "regular" version, that is available at face (see the initial post). The proof, or prooflike, version is surcharged though and comes in some kind of presentation box. That one was sold by the Numismatic Office (VfS) and cost €15.55 (currently $17.55), but is sold out now ...

Christian

 

Thanks, Christian, for the update. The OP doesn't indicate how to get order/get one here in Florida

 

Well, the OP (me) is in NW, Germany and knows how to get them here. Your post #13 is the first one that mentions FL ... The version that was issued at face is apparently "sold" out here, so one would have to buy the coin from dealers anyway. As for the US, this place will apparently have them at some point. Not endorsing any specific dealer; I just had a quick look.

Christian

 

Thank you for the clarification and help, again.

 

If someone wants to see a complete original roll.

 

Cool! If that is yours, where did you get it? Even the commercial banks around here do or did not give out more than two per customer ... Of course now your next step is getting the rolls from all five mints.

Christian

 

Why does Germany have 5 mints? That seems like a large number for a country with less than 1/3 the population of the US.

 

That's a historical situation.
In 1871, the Year of the Reichsgruendung, the former independent parts of Germany wanted to behold the right of minting coins.
5 of them standed the test of time and produce in nowhadays.

 

And in today's Germany (Federal Republic) it is not the "feds" either that run the mints. The mints are owned and operated by different states. (Well, one German state has two mints.) Are they all "necessary"? Certainly not. We have seventeen mints in the euro area, plus a few outside that are allowed to make euro coins. Too many in my opinion, but if each of them is profitable, oh well.

Christian