Standard circulation euro coins (1c-2c-5c-10c-20c-50c-€1-€2) are issued by each nation participating in the common currency but all are legal tender anywhere in the eurozone. In euro countries though, do the coins actually circulating tend to be that country's issue of coins or are they pretty thoroughly mixed? For example, if you go to Paris, will you see mostly French euro coins in your change or are you just as likely to get a coin from another euro country (e.g. Germany).
Guess that depends on where you go. In most euro countries the "domestic" pieces will have the biggest share, but of course you also come across others. In cities that get lots of visitors and/or are close to another member state, you find a greater mix than in some small remote place. And in those parts of the euro area where the next member state is just a short trip away, and can easily be reached, the mix will be different from, say, Finland or Ireland. Don't know if there are any statistical data; probably not. By and large however the higher denominations "travel" more than the lower ones. One site where various coin trackers enter what they come across is Eurodiffusie, primarily a Dutch project. These are their statistics for this month for example: Belgium (based on about 2,300 coins): http://www.eurodiffusie.nl/results/monthly/BE/2010/3 Netherland (based on about 5,100 coins): http://www.eurodiffusie.nl/results/monthly/NL/2010/3 Christian
Using Paris as an example, there were obviously lots of French coins when I was there, but also a smattering of German, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, and probably Belgian. I don't think I've ever seen a Finnish or Greek coin in circulation, and probably nothing from Luxembourg, let alone anything from one of the newer Euro countries. But then I don't live there. It's kind of similar to how US coins circulate by mintmark, if you think about it.
Based on my experience traveling in Europe, I'd agree with Christian. A couple of exceptions: The Finnish 1¢ and 2¢ coins are not used and I've never seen a Luxembourg euro coin in circulation. Other than having to buy a Lux set, I was able to fill the Dansco Euro book within two years (6+ trips) just getting coins from circulation (OK, I did ask the desk clerk at each hotel which coins he had to fill out the book).
Some of the countries, like Luxemburg, will have lower mintages than the big ones but I still come across issues from all the participating countries even, in the last few days, from Slovakia and Cyprus and this is here in Thailand!
Hmm, "nice" is a flexible term. There sure is a significant difference between places that have direct euro neighbors, and those that don't. Take Luxembourg and Malta for example - in terms of population, one country is (very roughly) as big as the other. But Luxembourg is surrounded by Belgium, France and Germany, all euro countries, and the "borders" between them are practically state lines with no checkpoints. All this makes it easy for cash to travel. Now Malta does not have a land "border" that one would cross easily. Finland and Ireland both have land borders, but none of their direct neighbors is a euro country. Of course tourists and business travelers for example will bring in some non-domestic coins and take the local coins home. But still, you would have to fly or maybe take a ferry. Another thing to keep in mind is that in Finland (see Cringely's reply), and also in the Netherlands, the 1 and 2 cent coins do not actually circulate. So people are unlikely to bring any in or take any home. However, central banks sometimes do what we do - they swap coins. The Dutch central bank (DNB) for example has a heap of 5 cent coins but not enough €2 coins, while in Finland it is pretty much the other way round. So in 2009 five trucks went from NL to FI, delivered several million 5 cent coins, and brought a bunch of €2 coins home. This year they plan to do the same thing ... Christian
The replies are quite interesting but do not tell the full story. For example, FOUR non-EU countries use the Euro currency and THREE of them issue their own Euro coins (but no banknotes). All four of these countries were tied to pre-Euro currencies, so they had to be accomodated when the new Euro currency came in and their old 'parent' currencies disappeared. Andorra does not issue its own Euro coins but may do so in the near future. San Marino and Vatican City issues their own Euro coins but neither circulate them, as these coins are all sold via their respective Numismatic Desks at their central banks to collectors. Most are now sold as BU sets in special sealed folders. Vatican City sold some as 'starter packs' in 2002 and San Marino also sell some of their coins in 'mint rolls' to collectors. Monaco sells BU sets but some coins do circulate in Monaco, although most are snapped up by eager numismatic tourists - especially the €1 and €2 coins. Of the other countries, all circulate ALL of their coins - except Finland, who never issued them to banks for circulation (although some mint rolls are available for the 1c and 2c coins. Luxembourg DO circulate their coins and they are easily collected in your pocket change here in Ireland. Recently, smaller denomination Dutch coins are a problem, but only if you collect all coins for all years. There is a rather sneaky ploy by Belgium who only circulate 5 of 8 coins each year - and the circulating coins vary from year to year. The other three coins are only available via their Central Bank in BU sets. On top of the 'normal' coins, there is an additional issue of special €2 commemorative coins but not all Euro Zone countries issue these every year. These coins DO circulate and they are very collectible. They would be similar to the US state quarters insofar as they are issued for circulation. Some issues from some countries are scarcer than others. A word of warning to trans-Atlantic collectors - just because a country has a smalll population, do not be lured into thinking that it has a correspondingly small number of coins issued. The coins issued relate to the GDP and the value of the national economy, so a small country like Luxembourg (with a very high GDP) has a large amount of currency in circulation. Interestingly, but not neccessarily for this coin forum, it doesn't seem to issue its own banknotes.
In my experience I believe minor Euro coins are evenly spread throughout the Euro zone. On my last drive through Holland, Germany, Austria and Italy on my way to Corfu I used and was given change in just about every countries Euro coinage. In Corfu (Greece) the most I saw were obviously Greek closely followed by Eire. Lots of coinage gets mixed and changed on ferries and airports when people in transit buy food & drink.
Keep in mind that all messages that got posted to this topic before yours are about four years old. And telling the full story about euro circulation coins here would be tough. The non-EU euro countries (and some other tidbits) I mentioned in this summary: http://www.cointalk.com/threads/the-euro.17115/#post-1878248 And yes, of course these three (soon four) issue circulation coins. The monetary agreements they have with the European Union mandate that 51, 70 or 80 percent of the annual volume - depends on the country - are issued at face. But the affected countries will only issue one denomination or two this way - the others you will indeed have to buy. As for the commemorative €2 coins, as far as I can tell, mintages have gone or are going down, especially now that each member state can issue two per year. The two Greek coins that are issued this year, for example, have mintages of roughly 700,000 each. Not "rare" but that defeats the purpose of circulating commems in my opinion. Christian
From experience airports have the best mixture of coinage. Allowed me to get Irish, Cypriot and Slovenian coins that otherwise I wouldn't see.
I looked at the change in my pocket. Euro....7.....5 are Irish, 2 Spanish. 50cents...2.....both Irish. 20 cents. 11....6 Irish, 3 French, 1 Spanish, 1 German 10 cents...4....3 Spanish 1 French (no Irish) 2 cents NIL 1 cent.....3......all Irish.
