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toast
Pillar Of The Community
Australia
1091 Posts |
 Posted 09/11/2006 10:54 am
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I was looking through some German Euro Cents and I saw that there are a lot of mint marks.... A, D, F, G, J...to name a few.
Then I had a look at some French Euro 1 & 2 Cent coins and saw a difference in design on different coins. 
One looks like a flower petal(1999 & 2000)and
another like a horse shoe (2001)
and another in 2004 that looks like a musicial horn.
(Just above and to the right of the date on these coins)
I found the similiar design changes on the other french euro coin denominations, the same mark for the corresponding years.
I looked in a book and see that all the French Euro Coins are minted at the Paris Mint...and no mention of a design change.
Am I looking at mint marks or design changes?? 
Which other Euro coins countries use different mintmarks on their coins?
Are there other small changes in Euro coins I should be looking for?
Collecting Euro's just got a whole lot bigger. 
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kuhli
Valued Member
USA
223 Posts |
Posted 09/11/2006 4:02 pm
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You are looking at the "privy marks" which are the marks of the mintmaster. In 1999 and 2000, the mintmasters' mark was a bee (looks more like a housefly). In 2001 the new mintmaster chose the horseshoe, in 2002 and 2003, yet a new mintmaster chose a heart, and yet again in 2004, a new mintmaster with the french horn as a privy mark. All of these coins also carry the cornicopia, the mark of the Paris mint. As far as I know, only 1 mintmaster per year used their mark, therefore there is only 1 type for each year.
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obsessive collector of coins,currency, stamps, tokens, and ephemera from Yugoslavia.
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kuhli
Valued Member
USA
223 Posts |
Posted 09/11/2006 4:17 pm
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You will also find different "privy marks" on the Netherlands euro coins. In 1999, the mark was a bow & arrow. In 2000, a star was added to the right of the bow & arrow (this star was to indicate that a temporary mintmaster had been appointed). Beginning in 2001, the mark was a bunch of grapes & grape leaves. All of the Dutch coins carry the cadeceus (Mercury's staff), the mark of the Utrecht mint.
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my wantlist
obsessive collector of coins,currency, stamps, tokens, and ephemera from Yugoslavia.
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toast
Pillar Of The Community
Australia
1091 Posts |
Posted 09/11/2006 7:53 pm
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Thanks for the information.
It explains what I was looking at...privy marks.
A Bee...I thought the 1999-2000 mark looked like a "housefly" but decided it must be something else. LOL. I imagined the wings to be a few flower petals.
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Sap
Moderator
Australia
4491 Posts |
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toast
Pillar Of The Community
Australia
1091 Posts |
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josie
Valued Member
Ireland
497 Posts |
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Bigfella
Pillar Of The Community
Australia
812 Posts |
Posted 09/12/2006 9:34 pm
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There is also www.euroswapper.com
I collect unc circulation style euros and am building an almost complete collection but I have not heard of these. Sounds like I need to do some research.
I am always happy to swap euros so send me a list of yours unc's if you want.
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Irishraider
Pillar Of The Community
USA
1447 Posts |
Posted 09/12/2006 9:44 pm
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So, let me see if I get this. Europe, as a continent or union, has a set and can be used anywhere? Each sebsequent country has their own issues of euros also and any of these can be used in any country that is part of the union?
I am really getting into world coins from the purchases I made from Kuhli and I am finding them more and more interesting all the time. I bought them for the wife but I think I am more interested than her. They are still hers but I am doing all the work.  I don't think of it as work though, it is lots of fun.
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Sap
Moderator
Australia
4491 Posts |
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kuhli
Valued Member
USA
223 Posts |
Posted 09/13/2006 12:29 am
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quote:
Originally posted by Irishraider
So, let me see if I get this. Europe, as a continent or union, has a set and can be used anywhere? Each sebsequent country has their own issues of euros also and any of these can be used in any country that is part of the union?
Currently, there are 12 participating nations in the EU (European Union) "euro" program. Each country issues their own "euro-coins", which are legal tender in all participating countries. All coins have a "common side", which is the same throughout the program. The other side or "national side" is up to each country to design. Some countries, such as Ireland, use the same design for all 8 denominations (1,2,5,10,20,50 euro-cents and 1,2 euro), while other countries have chosen to use different designs for each denomination. Beginning in 2007, there will be a few more countries starting to issue "euro-coins", with plans for more expansion over the next few years. Slovenia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Poland, Malta, Hungary, Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia are some of these future participants.
The EU is much more than just a monetary authority. There are a few countries that are full members of the EU, but have chosen not to convert to the "euro-coins" at this time. These are United Kingdom and Denmark. The Danish public has repeatedly voted to not convert to the "euro-coins", while the British government has not yet put it to a vote, as it is common public sentiment not to give up their currency system.
Besides the 12 current active participants, through agreements with the EU, there are 3 non-member micro-states who also issue "euro-coins". These include Vatican City (whose currency has been tied directly to the Italian currency for a long time), Monaco (currency tied to the French currency), and San Marino (also tied to the Italian currency). Unfortunately, these states are so small and issue such limited quantites of coins, it is very hard to obtain them. (although San Marino does seem to be issuing more minor coins in the last year or 2).
And then there are the legal status non-member states: Andorra, Montenegro, and Kosovo, who all have agreements with the EU to make the "euro-coins" their official monetary system, but have no provisions in the agreement to mint their own.
To start a collection of "euro-coins", realize that there are 8 denominations to collect, from 12 different countries (not including the micro-states). Bear in mind that German "euro-coins" have 5 different mint marks, giving you a total of 128 coins per year. This is just an estimate, as some countries do not issue all denominations every year. And this is just for the circulating issues. Within the guidelines issued by the EU, each country also has the right to issue "commemorative" coinage, which are legal tender only in the country of issue. France has issued 1¼ euro coins, while several other countries have issued 5 euro and 10 euro commem. coins. (some of these are silver, and available at face value)
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my wantlist
obsessive collector of coins,currency, stamps, tokens, and ephemera from Yugoslavia.
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Sap
Moderator
Australia
4491 Posts |
Posted 09/13/2006 12:31 am
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quote:
Originally posted by Irishraider
So, let me see if I get this. Europe, as a continent or union, has a set and can be used anywhere? Each sebsequent country has their own issues of euros also and any of these can be used in any country that is part of the union?
Not quite, Irish. There are no generic "European Union" coins - all the coins are issued by, for and in the name of the member countries. However, one side of the coins (normally classed as the "reverse") has a generic design used on all circulating euro coins. The Banknotes, however, are completely generic, with only the serial number prefix letting you know which country it was issued in.
Circulating euro coins (1 cent up to 2 euro) issued for any country are legal tender in any other country in the Euro-zone. When my brother went on holiday in Ireland, he brought back not just Irish euro coins, but Italian, German, French and Spanish ones too.
NCLT coins (made for collectors, normally with denominations above 5 euro) are issued by member countries and are only "legal tender" in the country of issue. The designs on these coins are "unlimited" - they can put whatever they want to on them.
To complicate matters further, not all countries in Europe are members of the Eurpoean Union (eg. Switzerland and Norway are not), and not all members of the EU are in the "Euro-zone" - some of them still issue their own currencies (eg. Britain, Denmark and Sweden).
Edited to add: Dang. Kuhli beat me to the punch again.  
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Edited by Sap - 09/13/2006 12:33 am |
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ageka
Pillar Of The Community
Belgium
2078 Posts |
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ageka
Pillar Of The Community
Belgium
2078 Posts |
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Bigfella
Pillar Of The Community
Australia
812 Posts |
Posted 09/13/2006 11:21 pm
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I love euro coins and collect unc circulation style coins. There are some 128 coins per year issued and this is ever increasing at new countries are added...slovenia comes on line next year. I have been going 2 years now mostly with swaps and am about 1/2 the way to having them all. Vatican is the really hoigh priced coins.
The next major change to euro coins is a change to the common side in 2008 to reflect the expanding euro zone.
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chrisild
Pillar Of The Community
505 Posts |
Posted 11/06/2006 6:41 pm
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quote:
Originally posted by Bigfella
The next major change to euro coins is a change to the common side in 2008 to reflect the expanding euro zone.
Some euro countries will start using the new common sides in 2007 - Slovenia (of course ) but also Finland and Germany. Probably some others too; member states are supposed to switch to the new map in either '07 or '08.
The Vatican pieces are still pretty expensive indeed. Monaco will also be tough if you want to collect all euro and cent "circulation" coins by type; this year there will be a set with redesigned national sides. And then, a year or two later, the new Europe map ...
Christian
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