I haven't really seen anyone discussing this anywhere. Now that there are so many countries in the Euro zone, what's going to be of their commemorative coins?
Guess that depends on which forums one frequents ... ;-) Hmm, I am not quite sure what you mean. Most euro countries regularly make collectors coins - some have only issued one or two this year, others made about thirty in 2002 alone (with France being the most "productive" country in this regard). Some member states (e.g. Greece, Ireland) have not issued any collectors euros yet. A few general remarks about such coins: Euro collectors coins may not have the same face value as "regular" euro coins; that is why you sometimes see odd values such as 1.5 euros. Also, those collectors coins are legal tender in the issuing member state only. (But then again they hardly ever show/ed up "in everyday life" anyway.) And in case you wonder why I always use the term "collectors coins": According to the official EU terminology, "commemorative coins" are pieces that have the same face value, and the same common side, as regular euro coins while the other side can be different. Such coins will be legal tender throughout Euroland. However, they are not to be issued in the first few years (in order to "avoid confusion"). That is why currently we have collectors coins only ... Christian
By the way, the Netherlands just issued a cool €5 coin (Vincent van Gogh's 150th birthday). Here is an enlarged picture (JPEG, about 500K each) that allows viewing the very interesting details: (obverse) http://www.minfin.nl/default.asp?CMS_TCP=tcpAsset&id=4CFB5E4F3646430AADAB89374076E0F5 (reverse) http://www.minfin.nl/default.asp?CMS_TCP=tcpAsset&id=B43CD176A3854202BA3BA40C74A2FB08 Earlier this year, the Austrian mint came with another interesting piece - a €25 bicolor coin with the central part (the "pill") made of niobium. From the web site of the Mint's official US distributor: http://www.eurocollections.com/catalog/?category=195&product=528 Christian
