What I have today is a set of specimen Euros made by the Birmingham Mint.
There has been a lot on conjecture as to what these pieces were for, how many were made and how many are currently in private hands. Here is the story about the Birmingham Mint specimen euro coins.
The Birmingham Mint was involved, along with other European mints and blank manufacturers, in defining the technical specifications for the blanks used for the new Euro coins. The original specifications were adopted in May, 1998. After consultation with some stakeholders, the final technical specifications were adopted in February 1999. The Birmingham Mint Specimen Euro coins were minted on blanks from the original specifications of 1998.
The Birmingham Mint was vying to get contracts to supply blanks to the mints of Europe. They wanted to show potential customers the quality of their blanks. Specimen pieces were minted on actual Euro blanks the Birmingham Mint produced. There were 65 presentation sets made and distributed to mint masters throughout Europe. There were also some 'pouch' sets that Birmingham Mint employees carried with them as salesman's samples.
In late 1998, The European Commissioner who oversaw the quality of the Euro, saw these specimen pieces and deemed them to be counterfeit because they were the exact size, weight and metal composition of proposed new Euro coins. He ordered them to be destroyed.
Most of the sets were re-obtained by the Birmingham Mint and destroyed. There were a few sets unaccounted for and remain in private hands. It is estimated that less than 10 full presentation sets and a few 'pouch' sets still remain.
This information was provided by Mr. K. Binnion who was the Engineering Manager of The Birmingham Mint, and oversaw the production of the Euro blanks and the collection and destruction of the 'counterfeit' specimens.
I have included a photo of a presentation set and a photo of the 20 Euro Cent specimen.
Another nugget of information. the Birmingham Mint never officially minted any Euro coins. They did however strike some 2 Euro coins for the Royal Dutch Mint in secret. The Birmingham Mint was already producing the blanks for the RDM but the RDM was struggling in striking the 2 Euro coin.
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Posted 05/12/2025 9:33 pm
