2 euro commemorative coins
€2 commemorative coins are special euro coins minted and issued by member states of the eurozone since 2004 as legal tender in all eurozone member states. Only the national obverse sides of the coins differ; the common reverse sides do not. The coins typically commemorate the anniversaries of historical events or draw attention to current events of special importance. In 2007, 2009, 2012 and 2015, there were common commemorative coins with only different national inscriptions. Up to end of 2017, three hundred and two variations of €2 commemorative coins have been minted – six in 2004, eight in 2005, seven in 2006, twenty in 2007, ten in 2008, twenty-five in 2009, twelve in 2010, sixteen in 2011, thirty in 2012, twenty-three in 2013, twenty-six in 2014, forty-seven in 2015, and thirty-two both in 2016 and 2017. Finland, Italy, Luxembourg, San Marino and the Vatican City are the only countries to have released at least one commemorative coin every year since 2004.
The number of commemorative coins is limited to two per country per year and to 5 percent of the total mintage output. Limits on the designs are also in place to ensure uniformity.
The €2 commemorative coins have become collectibles, but are different from commemorative coins with a face value different from €2, which are officially designated as "collector coins" and usually made of precious metals.
Regulations and restrictions
The basis for the commemorative coins is derived from a decision of the European Council, which allowed changing the national obverse sides of euro coins from 1 January 2004 onwards. However, a number of recommendations and restrictions still apply.Two restrictions concern the design. Euro coins must still have a common reverse side, so only the national obverse sides may be varied. Also, the standard national obverse sides per se should not be changed before 2008 at the earliest, unless the head of state depicted on some coins changes before then.
Further regulations restrict the frequency and number of commemorative coin issues. Until 2012, each member state could only issue one commemorative coin per year, and since that year two coins per year, and they shall only be denominated as €2 coins. The total number of such coins put into circulation per year should not surpass the higher of the following two numbers:
- 0.1% of the total number of €2 coins put into circulation by all members of the eurozone. This limit can exceptionally be increased to up to 2.0 per cent if the coin commemorates a very important and noteworthy event; in this case, the member state issuing this higher number of coins should refrain from putting any commemorative coins into circulation for the following four years.
- 5.0% of the total number of €2 coins put into circulation by the member state issuing the €2 commemorative coin.
These restrictions do not apply retroactively; only new designs—the national obverse sides for regular issues of states newly joining the euro or of eurozone states which change their design, and €2 commemorative coins issued from 2006 onwards—are subject to them. However, the five countries whose designs violated the first update to the rules initially were assumed to have to change their design in the future, which Finland did for 2007 and Belgium for 2008.
Another decision changed the rules again:
- The twelve stars of the European Union surrounding the coin designs need to surround the national design, including year marks and the name of the country. The stars have to appear in the same way as they are aligned on the flag of the European Union.
- The design of euro coins may not be changed except for two specific circumstances:
- * If a coin design is in violation of the recommendations, it may be updated to bring it into line with them.
- * If a coin design depicts a head of state, it may be updated:
- The edge lettering of commemorative coins has to be the same as the one on the regular coins.
In 2012, the European Council set up new specifications of euro coins and named a deadline for national sides of regular coins to be updated to fully comply with the current regulation: 20 June 2012. Also in 2012, a new EU regulation on the issuance of euro coins was concluded, increasing the allowed number of national €2 commemorative coins per year to two.
Issues
Twenty three countries have independently issued €2 commemorative coins, with Greece being the first country to issue this type of coin. There have also been four common €2 commemorative coins issued by all eurozone member states:- 50 years Treaty of Rome in 2007.
- 10 years Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union in 2009.
- 10 years Euro Coins and Banknotes in 2012.
- 30 years of the Flag of Europe in 2015.
Issued designs are made public in the Official Journal of the European Union.
2004 coinage
2005 coinage
2006 coinage
2007 coinage
2007 commonly issued coin
2008 coinage
2009 coinage
2009 commonly issued coin
2010 coinage
2011 coinage
2012 coinage
2012 commonly issued coin
2013 coinage
2014 coinage
2015 coinage
2015 commonly issued coin
2016 coinage
2017 coinage
2018 coinage
2019 coinage
2020 coinage
2021 coinage
2022 coinage
2022 commonly issued coin
2023 coinage
2024 coinage
2025 coinage
German Bundesländer series
started the commemorative coin series Die 16 Bundesländer der Bundesrepublik Deutschland in 2006, which will continue until 2022. The year in which the coin for a specific state is issued coincides with that state's Presidency of the Bundesrat. In 2018, the last three coins of the series were postponed to 2020, 2021 and 2022, respectively. This was because in 2019 Schleswig-Holstein assumed the presidency of the Bundesrat again. Since they had already been honored with its first coin in 2006, Germany decided to mint a coin commemorating 70 years since the constitution of the Federal Council in 2019 instead.| Year | Number | State | Design |
| 2006 | 1 | Holstentor in Lübeck | |
| 2007 | 2 | Schwerin Castle | |
| 2008 | 3 | St. Michaelis Church | |
| 2009 | 4 | Ludwigskirche in Saarbrücken | |
| 2010 | 5 | Bremen City Hall and Roland | |
| 2011 | 6 | Cologne Cathedral | |
| 2012 | 7 | Neuschwanstein Castle near Füssen | |
| 2013 | 8 | Maulbronn Abbey near Pforzheim | |
| 2014 | 9 | St. Michael's Church in Hildesheim | |
| 2015 | 10 | Paulskirche in Frankfurt am Main | |
| 2016 | 11 | Zwinger Palace in Dresden | |
| 2017 | 12 | Porta Nigra in Trier | |
| 2018 | 13 | Charlottenburg Palace | |
| 2019 | 14 | Federal Council | |
| 2020 | 15 | Sanssouci Palace in Potsdam | |
| 2021 | 16 | Cathedral of Magdeburg | |
| 2022 | 17 | Wartburg Castle in Eisenach |
Originally, the designs for the following states were different:
- Hamburg: Landungsbrücken
- Bremen: Bremen City Hall only
- Bavaria: Munich Frauenkirche
- Baden-Württemberg: Heidelberg Castle
- Lower Saxony: Hanover New City Hall
- Hesse: Römer in Frankfurt am Main
- Berlin: Reichstag
Latvian Historical Regions series
| Year | Number | Design |
| 2016 | 1 | Vidzeme's coat of arms |
| 2017 | 2 | Courland's coat of arms |
| 2017 | 3 | Latgale's coat of arms |
| 2018 | 4 | Semigallia's coat of arms |
Lithuanian Ethnographical">Ethnography">Ethnographical Regions series
Including Samogitia, Aukštaitija, Dzūkija, Suvalkija and Lithuania Minor| Year | Number | Design |
| 2019 | 1 | Samogitia's coat of arms |
| 2020 | 2 | Aukštaitija's coat of arms |
| 2021 | 3 | Dzūkija's coat of arms |
| 2022 | 4 | TBA |
| 2023 | 5 | TBA |
Luxembourgish Grand-Ducal Dynasty series
| Year | Number | Dukes Depicted | Design |
| 2004 | 1 | Grand Duke Henri | The effigy Grand Duke Henri and his monogramm |
| 2005 | 2 | Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duke Adolphe | The effigies of Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duke Adolphe |
| 2006 | 3 | Grand Duke Henri and Guillaume, Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg | The effigies of Grand Duke Henri and Guillaume, Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg |
| 2007 | 4 | Grand Duke Henri | The effigy Grand Duke Henri and the Grand Ducal Palace, Luxembourg |
| 2008 | 5 | Grand Duke Henri | The effigy Grand Duke Henri and Berg Castle |
| 2009 | 6 | Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Charlotte | The effigies of Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Charlotte |
| 2010 | 7 | Grand Duke Henri | The effigy Grand Duke Henri and the emblem of the Grand Duke |
| 2011 | 8 | Grand Duke Henri, Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg and Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg | The effigies of Grand Duke Henri, Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg and Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg |
| 2012 | 9 | Grand Duke Henri and William IV, Grand Duke of Luxembourg | The effigies of Grand Duke Henri, William IV, Grand Duke of Luxembourg and the outline of Luxembourg. |
| 2012 | 10 | Grand Duke Henri, Guillaume, Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg and Stéphanie, Hereditary Grand Duchess of Luxembourg | The effigies of Grand Duke Henri, Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume and Countess Stéphanie de Lannoy |
| 2013 | 11 | Grand Duke Henri | The effigy of Grand Duke Henri and the National Anthem of the Grand Duchy |
| 2014 | 12 | Grand Duke Henri | The effigy of Grand Duke Henri |
| 2014 | 13 | Grand Duke Henri and Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg | The effigies of Grand Duke Henri and Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg |
| 2015 | 14 | Grand Duke Henri and Maria Teresa, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg | The effigies of Grand Duke Henri and Maria Teresa, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg |
| 2015 | 15 | Grand Duke Henri, Grand Duke Jean, Grand Duchess Charlotte, Grand Duchess Marie-Adélaïde, Grand Duke William IV and Grand Duke Adolphe | The effigies of Grand Duke Henri, Grand Duke Jean, Grand Duchess Charlotte, Grand Duchess Marie-Adélaïde, Grand Duke William IV and Grand Duke Adolphe |
| 2016 | 16 | Grand Duke Henri | The effigy of Grand Duke Henri and the Grand Duchess Charlotte Bridge |
| 2017 | 17 | Grand Duke Henri | The effigy of Grand Duke Henri and the Cap Badge of the Luxembourg Army |
| 2017 | 18 | Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duke William III | The effigies of Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duke William III |
| 2018 | 19 | Grand Duke Henri | The effigy of Grand Duke Henri and the Constitution of Luxembourg |
| 2018 | 20 | Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duke William I | The effigies of Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duke William I |
| 2019 | 21 | Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Charlotte | The effigies of Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Charlotte |
| 2019 | 22 | Grand Duke Henri | The effigy of Grand Duke Henri and a ballot box |
| 2020 | 23 | Grand Duke Henri and Prince Henry of Orange-Nassau | TBA |
| 2020 | 24 | Grand Duke Henri | TBA |
Maltese series
Maltese constitutional history
| Year | Number | Design |
| 2011 | 1 | First Election of Representatives in 1849 |
| 2012 | 2 | Majority Representation in 1887 |
| 2013 | 3 | Establishment of Self-Government in 1921 |
| 2014 | 4 | Independence from Britain in 1964 |
| 2015 | 5 | Proclamation of the Republic of Malta in 1974 |
From Children in Solidarity
| Year | Number | Design |
| 2016 | 1 | Solidarity through love |
| 2017 | 2 | Solidarity and peace |
| 2018 | 3 | Cultural heritage |
| 2019 | 4 | Nature/Environment |
| 2020 | 5 | Games |
Maltese Prehistoric Sites
| Year | Number | Design |
| 2016 | 1 | Ġgantija |
| 2017 | 2 | Ħaġar Qim |
| 2018 | 3 | Mnajdra |
| 2019 | 4 | Ta' Ħaġrat Temples |
| 2020 | 5 | Skorba Temples |
| 2021 | 6 | Tarxien Temples |
| 2022 | 7 | Hypogeum of Ħal-Saflieni |
Spanish UNESCO World Heritage Sites series
started the commemorative coin series Patrimonio de la Humanidad de la UNESCO in 2010, commemorating all of Spain's UNESCO World Heritage Sites, which could continue until 2050. The order in which the coin for a specific site is issued coincides with the order in which they were declared a UNESCO World Heritage site. The coins issued are:| Year | Number | Design |
| 2010 | 1 | Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba |
| 2011 | 2 | Patio de los Leones of the Alhambra in Granada |
| 2012 | 3 | Burgos Cathedral |
| 2013 | 4 | Monastery and Site of the Escorial |
| 2014 | 5 | Park Güell |
| 2015 | 6 | Cave of Altamira |
| 2016 | 7 | Aqueduct |
| 2017 | 8 | Santa María del Naranco |
| 2018 | 9 | Santiago de Compostela |
| 2019 | 10 | Ávila with its Extra-Muros Churches |
| 2020 | 11 | Mudéjar Architecture of Aragon |
| 2021 | 12 | Historic City of Toledo |
| 2022 | 13 | Garajonay National Park |