two more countries have now adopted the euro officially, making 18 different types. The original twelve countries were somewhat easy to get, although Luxembourg was a *****, and so far, I don't know anyone who's gotten any Slovenia in their change, so those who've gotten the sets think of the new designs?
I like the Slovenian designs as well as the new Malta and Cyprus. I only have the Slovenian ones so far, but I've got both of this year's new entries ready to ship to me. I find these last three countries' designs to be far more appealing, but that is just my opinion.
The Slovenian coins are nicely designed, but of course they get an extra plus from me for having eight different designs for the eight denominations. The €1 piece from SI is a little too "busy" in my opinion, but apart from that, great. Cyprus and Malta - three different designs is, hmm, OK. The Malta coins - well, I know the designs result from a public poll/vote, but I find the combination of an actual historic building (Mnajdra Temple, "copper" coins) and two symbolic designs (CoA for the mid-range pieces, Maltese Cross for €1/€2) strange. The designs themselves, however, are good. The Cyprus designs are nice too, but I would have put the Pomos Idol on the Nordic Gold pieces, and the Kyrenia ship on the bi-met coins. And yes, I have them all - CY, MT, SI and the older ones. As for the 8-coin sets of circulation coins, I like the Italian pieces best. Not only because they have eight designs but also because the eight reflect Roman/Italian art and architecture through the centuries. Oh, and - as from Thursday we EU citizens/residents can vote for our favorite design of the 2009 common €2 commemorative issue. The theme will be the euro's ten-year anniversary, and I hope there will be more than just designs with a big € in the middle. Christian
By the way, Topher ... http://www.cointalk.org/image.php?u=8489&dateline=1200940832 ... what is that?? Pray tell. (Edit: Ah, found it ... Frizio!) Christian
Here in Belgium, I received a 50 eurocents and a 1 eurocent from Slovenia in change. That's less than we find Finnish eurocoins in circulation. By the way, Luxemburg eurocoins are quite common in circulation. (I even received Luxemburg commemorative 2 euros for change) bart
In 2007 Belgium introduced a modified reverse (common side) for the 0.10-2.00 coins, like most other euro countries - and yes, this year the country code "BE" will be added to the obverse; this affects all denominations. http://www.muenzblog.de/bilder/belgien-umlaufmuenzen-2008.jpg The royal effigy is modified (a little), the mintmark and the mintmaster sign get added, and the king's monogram is moved from the ring to the pill. Sadly, all denominations will still have the same design ... Christian
The modification is minimal. As a country identification must be added, starting 2008 you'll find the letters "BE" just underneath the king's monogram AII. That's the easiest way to see the difference. You can see this very good on chrisild's link. Bart
Actually I shamelessly stole the image as JPEG can be viewed more easily. But if you want a closer view, here are the text (English version) and the pictures in a PDF file, with scalable graphics: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:C:2007:302:0007:0007:EN:PDF Christian
I can believe that! You hardly see them in Belgium! I only found the following 2007 Belgian coins in circulation: 20 cent, normal 2 euro, commemorative 2 euro (ToR). But not the whole series was issued for circulation. Some of the 2007-coins were only issued as part of a set. I am not certain if they already issued 2008 coins.
According to Henning's site http://www.euro-auflagen.de/ quite a few were apparently made last year. But one never knows - the German figures, for examples, are not even published officially any more. Sigh. Christian
You're right, Christian! In the first place, I forgot about the 1 and 2 cent 2007, which you can find very easily in circulation. I always forget those, as these coins are not of a new type. The 2008 coins will be. About the other coins: mintage is high enough, but they don't necessarily have to be in circulation yet. At the moment you can receive from time to time brandnew rolls of coins dated 2002, 2003 and 2004, which means these are entering circulation only now. Bart
Well well well. The five designs we can choose from are a little better than that, but none of them I find very appealing ... http://www.eurodesigncontest.eu/ In case you cannot enlarge the images, try this page (for viewing, not for voting): http://www.zwei-euro.com/2-euro/gemeinschaftsausgabe/2009/gedenkmuenze.htm Christian
