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<p>[QUOTE=&quot;chrisild, post: 2171132, member: 39&quot;]Don&#039;t think that is the issue. Think of what, for example, the US military has done in the past seventy years - not so much to be proud of. But of course it depends on one&#039;s individual views whether some war or battle or invasion is counted as a &quot;victory&quot;.</p><p><br /></p><p>In the past three months, this commem brouhaha has apparently led to reviving the &quot;Waterloo spirit&quot; in the UK. And now apparently in the US too. Sure, in March I was surprised as well and wondered why the French government would object to such a Belgian €2 commem. Then again, this is not the first time that one euro area member state, or the European Commission, had problems with certain commems or designs. But those did not affect people or places that involved the British or Americans.</p><p><br /></p><p>Of course the UK issued coins that celebrate the Waterloo anniversary, and both Belgium and the Netherlands do so too. For the latter two it makes sense as Waterloo 1815 is, in a way, the &quot;birthplace&quot; of the Kingdom of the United Netherlands. Plus, Waterloo is in Belgium. <img src="styles/default/xenforo/clear.png" class="mceSmilieSprite mceSmilie1" alt=":)" unselectable="on" unselectable="on" />&nbsp; It may make sense to keep in mind, however, that for much of Continental Europe the effect of the battle was the restoration of the old regimes.</p><p><br /></p><p>Here in Rhineland for example the French reforms of the late 18th and early 19th centuries were mostly welcomed. Things got bad when people had to feed Napoleon‘s soldiers and/or were killed in his war. But when Prussia annexed the area in 1815, the government was wise enough to not replace the modern Code Civil with the traditional laws that still applied in the old Prussian lands.</p><p><br /></p><p>As for the €2.50 coin, this New York Times article claims there is &quot;a little-known European Union rule that allows countries to issue euro coins of their choice, provided they are in an irregular denomination.&quot; Umm, this may not be well known in countries outside the euro area, but all euro countries have issued lots of such pieces every single year. They are called collector coins, and <a href="http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32012R0651" target="_blank" class="externalLink ProxyLink" data-proxy-href="http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32012R0651" rel="nofollow">European Union law</a> specifies that, unlike circulation and commemorative €2 coins, they</p><p>* are not issued with a view to their entry into circulation,</p><p>* have the status of legal tender only in the issuing Member State.</p><p>* Also, &quot;Member States shall take all appropriate measures to discourage the use of collector coins as a means of payment.&quot;</p><p><br /></p><p>You can buy the Belgian brass €2.50 piece in a coincard, or as part of the annual set; the €10 issued on the same occasion is a silver coin. The Dutch €5 Waterloo piece is silver; there is also a €10 gold piece. All these issues are surcharged.</p><p><br /></p><p>Christian[/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>

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