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The reflection of history in every coin
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Frequently Asked Questions
How can you acquire collector and commemorative euro coins?
The Bank of Greece is authorized by the respective decision of the Minister of Finance to supply to the public, through its Head Office and Branches, collector coins and series of coins that are issued following a joint decision of the Minister of Finance and the Governor of the Bank of Greece.
For email ordering of collector and commemorative coins, the process to be followed is described bellow:
- Application submission
- First, the interested party shall fill out a Pre-Registration Form , and email it to: serv.NumProd@bankofgreece.gr. Upon receiving the form, the relevant unit of the Bank of Greece shall verify that the items requested are still in stock, enter the details of the order into its pre-registration/order database and return the pre-registration form to the applicant with the Reference Number and Date of Pre-Registration/Order corresponding to the specific order.
- In the case that one or more kinds of coins are not available, a respective note is made in order for the applicant to be informed. Following, the order is finalized after the applicant prepays the full amount of the order, within three working days from the order date (i.e. the day of the order and the following two). Otherwise, the order shall be canceled.
- Payment of the total amount due (for finalization of the order):
The amount can be paid in two ways:
- By money transfer (from a bank in Greece or abroad) to Bank of Greece Account No. GR2701000520000000059134368 – SALE OF COMMEMORATIVE COINS – BIC: BNGRGRAA. In this case, the applicant must request from the credit institution to fill in the Field Nr. 70 of the money transfer the Reference Number and Date of Pre-Registration, as well as the applicant’s full name. It is noted that this information is absolutely necessary to match the money transfer and finalize the relevant pre-registration.
- At the counters of the Bank of Greece (Head Office or Branches) by the applicant or a person authorized to act on his/her behalf, upon presentation of valid identification (ID or passport).
- Dispatch of commemorative / collector coins to recipients
- Orders for recipients within Greece will be delivered by registered mail via the Hellenic Post. The postage expenses, which are prepaid, are calculated according the Hellenic Post’s price list.
- For recipients within other European countries, orders will be dispatched by EPG (hard boxes – declared value), with minimum cost 28€ for maximum value 500€ per package. The Bank of Greece shall not be responsible for any change in postage rates.
- In the event of non-receipt of an order, the Bank is obliged to provide the customer with the relevant dispatch details (date and number) to enable tracing of the order. The Bank of Greece shall have no further liability to the customer.
- It is noted that each customer who has placed a remote order for numismatic products, will not be able to pick up the products ordered at the Head Office or the Branches of Bank of Greece. These will only be delivered by post.
- During the period that quantity limitations exist regarding the supply of numismatic products, multiple applications with the same recipient will not be accepted.
- In the case that an applicant has placed a remote order for a numismatic product and the said applicant is found to have already purchased the same product from the Head Office or any Branch of the Bank of Greece, the remote order will be automatically canceled and any fee deposited will be returned to the applicant reduced by the money transfer fees. The above referred action will take place only when the quantity restrictions are valid
- Sales of the above products to taxable persons established in another EU Member State shall be exempt from VAT, in accordance with the provisions of Article 28 of the VAT Code. Such exemption is subject to VAT validation through the VIES system and to proof of dispatch of the goods to the purchaser’s Member State of establishment.
Commemorative euro coins
The introduction of euro coins in January 2002 has generated a variety of coin designs, since the euro area countries have put euro coins in circulation with distinctive national symbols on the common side, in addition to the differences on the national side.
The diversity of the coins' national sides is enhanced with the issuance of commemorative and collector coins, officially issued by the member states.
Their characteristic is that they have different national side than the common coins and are issued in order to celebrate events or commemorate anniversaries, honor a person etc. The common appearance, their characteristics and features are no different than the ones of a ordinary 2€ coin. Commemorative coins issued jointly by all countries of the euro area, have the same design on their national side, while the name of the issuing country and the celebrated event are written in the respective language.
Collector euro coins
Collector euro coins are officially issued by euro area countries, but are not intended for circulation. Their nominal value and designs are always different than the one of the coins in circulation.
While euro circulation coins are legal tender throughout the euro area, euro collector coins are legal tender only in their country of issuance. These coins are rarely used for payment purposes, because their market value is usually much higher than their nominal value and many of them are made out of precious metals such as gold or silver.
To avoid causing confusion to the public, the technical specifications of collector coins are different from those of circulation coins. Out of the three technical parameters, namely color, diameter and weight, at least two need to be different from those of euro circulation coins.
What are the characteristics of euro circulation coins?
Euro coins, in contrast with euro banknotes that have single appearance, have only one side that is common for all member states of the euro area. The national side bares representations selected from the competent authorities of each member-state. Regardless of the representation on the national side, the euro coins can be used as legal tender in all euro area member states.
Special features have been incorporated in order to facilitate blind and partially sighted persons.
One euro is divided in 100 cents. There are eight euro coin denominations:
1 cent | Diameter (mm): 16,25 Thickness (mm.): 1,67 Weight (g): 2,30 Shape: round Color: copper Composition: Copper-covered steel Edge: smooth |
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2 cent | Diameter (mm): 18,75 Thickness (mm.): 1,67 Weight (g): 3,06 Shape: round Color: copper Composition: Copper-covered steel Edge: Smooth with a groove |
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5 cent | Diameter (mm): 21,25 Thickness (mm.): 1,67 Weight (g): 3,92 Shape: round Color: copper Composition: Copper-covered steel Edge: smooth |
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10 cent | Diameter (mm): 19,75 Thickness (mm.): 1,93 Weight (g): 4,10 Shape: round Color: gold Composition: Nordic gold Edge: Shaped edge with fine scallops |
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20 cent | Diameter (mm): 22,25 Thickness (mm.): 2,14 Weight (g): 5,74 Shape: Spanish flower shape Color: gold Composition: Nordic gold Edge: plain |
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50 cent | Diameter (mm): 24,25 Thickness (mm.): 2,38 Weight (g): 7,80 Shape: round Color: gold Composition: Nordic gold Edge: Shaped edge with fine scallops |
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1 euro | Diameter (mm): 23,25 Thickness (mm.): 2,33 Weight (g): 7,50 Shape: round Color: Outer part: gold; inner part: silver Composition: Outer part: nickel brass; inner part: three layers: copper-nickel, nickel, copper-nickel Edge: Interrupted milled |
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2 euro | Diameter (mm): 25,75 Thickness (mm.): 2,20 Weight (g): 8,50 Shape: round Color: Outer part: Silver; inner part: gold Composition: Outer part: copper-nickel; inner part: three layers: nickel brass, nickel, nickel brass Edge: Edge lettering, fine milled |
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The Common side of euro coins
For the design of the common side of euro coins a competition was launched at European level. The winning series were designed by Luc Luycx of the Royal Belgian Mint.
After the EU enlargement of May 1, 2004 with 10 new member states, it was deemed necessary to change the common sides of the 10-, 20- and 50-cent and €1 and €2 coins, in order to represent the new composition of the EU. The related decision was taken by the European Council on 7 June 2005.
Member states have been issuing coins with the new common sides, gradually from 2007 onwards. The new member states that adopted the euro from 2007 onwards (Slovakia, Cyprus, Malta and Slovenia) minted coins with the new common sides. 1-, 2- and 5-cent coins show the denomination, the inscription "EURO CENT", six lines and twelve stars near the edge of the lines. The middle part of the lines shows Europe in relief in relation to Africa and Asia on a globe.
10-, 20- and 50-cent coins show the denomination, the inscription "EURO CENT", six vertical straight lines and twelve stars near the edge of each line. The upper middle part of the lines shows either the European Union with the 15 Member States before the enlargement of 1 May 2004 or a geographical image of Europe as of 1 January 2007.
€1 and €2 coins show the denomination, the inscription "EURO", six vertical lines and twelve stars near the edge of each line. The right part shows either the European Union before the enlargement of 1 May 2004 or a geographical image of Europe as of 1 January 2007.