German Euro Coins



German Euro Coins have much to offer – three interesting motifs for the standard coins as well as a fascinating Commemorative Series covering the German Provinces.




Germany was one of the founding members of the Euro zone and started issuing coins in 2002. Some Basic Facts relating to Germany.



Normal Currency Coins.


Three motifs are to be seen on the German Euro Coins:

  • Oak Leaf for the 1 cent , 2 cent and 5 cent coins.
  • Brandenburger Tor for the 10 cent, 20 cent and 50 cent coins.
  • Eagle for the 1 Euro and 2 Euro coins.



Oak Leaf.

The Oak Leaf was chosen, at least in part, to give a feeling of continuity as it appeared previously on the old pfennig coin. The story of the Oak Leaf goes back a little further.
The various principalities in the old German bund (union) all had the right to issue their own coins. This was done away with in 1837 by the Munich "Coin Treaty" and the Oak Leaf was then chosen as the symbol uniting all in the now economically united Germany.

Rolf Lederbogen was the designer of this series.


Brandenburger Tor.

The Brandenburger Tor (Brandenburg Gate) has long been a landmark in Berlin. After the war it came to symbolise the divided Germany and then with the fall of the wall in 1989 many Germans from east and west met at the Brandenburger Tor which has since become a symbol both for a united Germany as well as a symbol the unifying process in Europe.

Reinhard Heinsdorff was the designer of this series.

Eagle.


The Eagle was adopted as the national symbol at the formation of the German state in 1871. Between the wars it was used in the Weimar republic and then again in 1950. The current eagle, almost identical in form to that used in the Weimar republic ,was reinstated as the national symbol of the new Germany.

This series had two designers - Heinz Hoyer and Sneschana Russewa-Hoyer.

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In all years where more than one commemorative coin has been issued, no standartd two Euro coins have been minted-not even in limited sets for collectors.This is because the authorities see the issue of two Commemoratives as being adequate to keep the supply of two Euro coins in circulation up to the required level.


The years affected are:

  • 2007
  • 2009
  • 2012
  • 2013
  • 2015
  • 2018



For the first three years there were, in addition to the German Länder series, common issues for all of the EU countries in the Euro Zone and in 2013 Germany also had a joint issue with France.

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German Euro Coins are unique in that the coins are minted in five different cities and this is reflected in the coins by a small capital letter that represents the place of minting (The Mint Mark).


Summary of the German Minting Sites


Letter Where Minted Approximate
Percentage
A Berlin 20 %
D München 21 %
F Stuttgart 24 %
G Karlsruhe 14 %
J Hamburg 21 %










German 1 cent coin


1 cent - Oak Leaf.






German 2 cent coin



2 cent - Oak Leaf.




German 5 cent coin



5 cent - Oak Leaf.




German 10 cent coin



10 cent - Brandenburger Tor.




German 20 cent coin



20 cent - Brandenburger Tor.




German 50 cent coin



50 cent - Brandenburger Tor.




German 1 Euro €  coin



1 Euro - German Eagle.




German 2 Euro € coin



2 Euro - German Eagle.


Two Euro Coin Rim

Around the rim of the Two Euro Coin appears the inscription "EINIGKEIT UND RECHT UND FREIHEIT" (Unity and Justice and Freedom) followed by the national eagle.







German Commemorative Two Euro Coins.



Germany delayed minting commemorative 2 Euro coins for a couple of years but then laid the scene for the next 16 years!!

It was decided that each year a commemorative coin would be minted depicting one of the Bundesländer (provinces) - how appropriate this is for commemorative coins is debatable but the die is caste and so it will proceed until 2021.

So although the actual representation of the future commemorative coins may not be known the themes are.


Below I set out a table showing what has been and will be in Germany from 2006 to 2021 - solely with regard to 2 Euro Commemorative Coins, of course!

Note: A decision has been made to interupt the Bundesländer Series and no coin in this series will be issued in 2019. The series will therefore be completed in 2022.

In 2019 a commemorative coin will be issued celebrating the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the post-war parliament. Why this is being issued instead of, rather than in addition to a commemorative in the Budesländer series, I don't know. 


Summary of the German Commerorative Coins 2006-2022

Year Bundesland
Province
Motif Date Issued
2006 Schleswig-Holstein Lübecker Holstenertor 03.02.2006
2007 Mecklenburg-
Vorpommern
Schloss Schwerin 02.02.2007
2008 Hamburg Hamburg Sankt-
Michaelis-Kirche
01.02.2008
2009 Saarland Saarbrücker Ludwigskirche 06.02.2009
2010 Bremen Bremen Roland
and Rathaus
29.01.2010
2011 Nordrhein-Westfalen Kölner Dom
(Cologne Cathedral)
28.01.2011
2012 Bayern
(Bavaria)
Schloss Neusachwanstein 03.02.2012
2013 Baden-Würtemberg Kloster Maulbrom 01.02.2013
2014 Niedersachsen St. Michaelis
Kirche zu Hildesheim
07.02.2014
2015 Hessen Frankfurter Paulskirche 30.01.2015
2016 Sachsen Dresdner Zwinger 05.02.2016
2017 Rheinland-
Pfalz
Porta Nigra 03.02.2017
2018 Berlin Schloss Charlottenburg Planned
30.01.2018
2020 Sachen-Anhalt Magdeburger Dom Planned
28.01.2020
2021 Thüringen Wartburg not known
2022 Brandenberg Schloss Sanssouci Potsdam not known


























Germany has availed itself of the new directive (issued in 2012) that allows the Euro countries to issue two commemorative coins per year. In 2013 Germany will, in addition to the Bundesländer series, be issuing a joint issue with France that commemorates the signing of the treaty of Élysée in 1963 . This is also the first joint issue in the Euro zone.




Here follow the images of the coins.




German Commemorative Coin 2006 - Schleswig-Holstein

2006 - Lübecker Holstentor in Schleswig-Holstein. (The letter for the minting location appears at 9 o'clock)

Date of issue     : 03.02.2006

Issuing Volume : 30 Million


German Commemorative Coin 2007 - Mecklenburg-Vorpommern

2007 - Schweriner Schloss in Mecklenberg-Vorpommern. (The letter for the minting location appears at 12 o'clock)

Date of issue     : 02.02.2007

Issuing Volume : 30 Million


German Commemorative Coin 2008 - Hamburg

2008 - Hamburger Sankt Michaelis Kirche in Hamburg. (The letter for the minting location appears at 1 o'clock)


Date of issue     : 01.02.2008

Issuing Volume : 30 Million


German Commemorative Coin 2009 - Saarland

2009 - Sarbrücker Ludwigskircher in Saarland. (The letter for the minting location appears at at 6 o'clock)

Date of issue     : 06.02.2009

Issuing Volume : 30 Million


German Commemorative Coin 2010 - Bremen

2010 - Bremer Roland and Rathaus(Townhall) in Bremen. (The letter for the minting location appears at 11 o'clock)

Date of issue     : 29.01.2010

Issuing Volume : 30 Million


German Commemorative Coin 2011 - Nodrhein-Westfalen

2011 - Kölner Dom (Cologne Cathedral) in Nordrhein-Westfalen. (The letter for the minting location appears at 1 o'clock)

Date of issue     : 28.01.2011

Issuing Volume : 30 Million


German Commemorative Coin 2012 - Bayern .Schloss Neuschwanstein Bavaria

2012 - Schloss Neuschwanstein in Bavaria. (The letter for the minting location appears between 2 o'clock and 3 o'clock)

Date of issue     : 03.02.2012

Issuing Volume : 30 Million


German Commemorative Coin 2013 - Elysee Vertag Treaty

2013 - Joint issue with France, commemorating the Treaty of Élysée.(Minting location appears between 3 o'clock and 4 o'clock)

Date of issue     : 22.01.2013

Issuing Volume : 11 Million


German Commemorative Coin 2013 - Baden-Württemberg

2013 - Kloster Maulbronn in Baden-Württemberg.(The letter for the minting location appears between 2 o'clock and 3 o'clock)

Date of issue     : 01.02.2013

Issuing Volume : 30 Million


German Commemorative Coin 2014 - Niedersachsen

2014 - St. Michaels Church in Hildeshein Lower Saxony.(The letter for the minting location appears at nine o'clock)


Date of issue     : 07.02.2014

Issuing Volume : 30 Million


German Commemorative Coin 2015 - Hessen

2015 - Pauls Church in Frankfurt am Main (Hessen).(The letter for the minting location appears between at 8 o'clock and 9 o'clock)

Date of issue     : 30.01.2015

Issuing Volume : 30 Million


German Commemorative Coin 2015 - 25 years German unity Deutsche Einheit

2015 - Commemorating 25 years of German unity.(The letter for the minting location appears between at 6 o'clock and 7 o'clock)

Date of issue     : 30.01.2015

Issuing Volume : 30 Million



German Commemorative Coin 2016 - Sachsen

2016 - Zwinger in Dresden in the province Sachsen.(The letter for the minting location appears at one o'clock)

Date of issue     : 05.02.2016

Issuing Volume : 30 Million


German Commemorative Coin 2017 - Rheinland Pfalz

2017 - Porta Negra (black gate) in Trier - province Rheinland Pfalz.(The letter for the minting location appears between eight and nine six o'clock)

Date of issue     : 03.07.2017

Issuing Volume : 30 Million


German Commemorative Coin 2018 - Berlin

2018 - Charlottenburg Palace in Berlin. Berlin is the capital of Germany and also counts as a province.(Minting location appears between one and two six o'clock)

Date of issue     : 30.01.2018

Issuing Volume : 30 Million


German Commemorative Coin 2018 - Helmut Schmidt

2018 - 100th anniversary of the birth of Helmut Schmidt Chancellor of Germany from 1974 to 1982.(Minting location between three and four six o'clock)

Date of issue     : 30.01.2018

Issuing Volume : 30 Million


2019 - This coin commemorates the 70th Anniversary of the establishment of the Bundesrat.(Minting location between 10 and 11 six o'clock)

Date of issue     : 29.01.2019

Issuing Volume : 30 Million


2019 - This coin commemorates 30 years since the opening of the Berlin Wall in 1989.(Minting location at 7 o'clock)

Date of issue     : 10.10.2019

Issuing Volume : 30 Million


2020 - Sanssousi Palace - Brandenburg.(The letter for the minting location appears at 11 o'clock )

Date of issue     : 28.01.2020

Issuing Volume : 30 Million


2020 - Willi Brandt -Kniefall in Warsaw.(The mint mark appears at 9 o'clock )


Date of issue     : 08.10.2020

Issuing Volume : 30 Million


2021 - Magdeburg Cathedral Sachsen - Anhalt.(The letter for the minting location appears at 9 o'clock )

Date of issue     : 26.01.2021

Issuing Volume : 30 Million


2022 - Wartburg Castle - Thüringen.(The letter for the minting location appears at 2 o'clock )


Date of issue     : 25.01.2022

Issuing Volume : 30 Million




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