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БългарскиReverse
Obverse
Slovenia · 30 years of the EU flag
Issue date7 Dec 2015
Total mintage1,000,000
EU maximum1,000,000
Editions1
Edge letteringSLOVENIJA •
InscriptionSLOVENIJA / 1985-2015 / GS
DesignerGeorgios Stamatopoulos
mintIstituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato S.p.A., Roma
Issue occasion
The coin commemorates the 30th anniversary of the EU flag. The design depicts the flag as a symbol of the shared visions and ideals of the peoples and cultures of Europe; its twelve stars take the form of people welcoming the birth of a new Europe. Also shown are “SLOVENIJA”, the years “1985-2015” and the initials of the designer Georgios Stamatopoulos.
The design
The design depicts the EU flag as a symbol bringing together peoples and cultures with common ideas and ideals for shaping a better future. Twelve stars take the form of people and welcome the birth of a new Europe. At the top right along the coin ring, the issuing country “SLOVENIJA” and the years “1985-2015” can be read. At the bottom right, the designer’s initials (Georgios Stamatopoulos) are shown.
The twelve stars of the European flag are depicted on the outer ring of the coin.
The twelve stars of the European flag are depicted on the outer ring of the coin.
Background on the topic
The European flag, known today as the EU flag, was originally created by the Council of Europe (Europarat), an international organisation independent of the European Union (Europäische Union). The Council of Europe introduced the symbol in 1955. The European Communities (Europäische Gemeinschaften) initially had their own emblems. It was not until 1985 that their heads of state and government decided to adopt the European flag as a symbol as well. It has been used by the European Community institutions since 1986. The European Union itself was established under this name only with the Treaty of Maastricht, which entered into force in 1993.
The number of stars does not represent the number of member states. There were already twelve when the flag was introduced, although the Council of Europe had more than twelve members at the time. The unchanging number was chosen as a symbol of unity and completeness. Consequently, the design remained the same despite the subsequent enlargements of the European Communities and the European Union. This distinguishes the European flag, for example, from the flag of the United States (Vereinigten Staaten), whose number of stars is linked to the number of states.
The anniversary gave the euro-area countries an opportunity to issue a joint commemorative coin. Such joint issues combine the same theme and the same basic design with the respective national inscriptions. A competition was held among European mints to create the design. A panel of experts selected five proposals, which citizens and residents of the euro area could vote on online. The design by Georgios Stamatopoulos, a coin designer working at the Bank of Greece (griechische Zentralbank), was chosen.
Slovenia’s participation placed the country within this joint euro-area issue. Slovenia had joined the European Union in 2004 and was the first of the countries admitted in 2004 to introduce the euro in 2007. The coin therefore does not refer to an exclusively Slovenian anniversary, but to a commonly used European symbol and its adoption by the European Communities at the time.
The number of stars does not represent the number of member states. There were already twelve when the flag was introduced, although the Council of Europe had more than twelve members at the time. The unchanging number was chosen as a symbol of unity and completeness. Consequently, the design remained the same despite the subsequent enlargements of the European Communities and the European Union. This distinguishes the European flag, for example, from the flag of the United States (Vereinigten Staaten), whose number of stars is linked to the number of states.
The anniversary gave the euro-area countries an opportunity to issue a joint commemorative coin. Such joint issues combine the same theme and the same basic design with the respective national inscriptions. A competition was held among European mints to create the design. A panel of experts selected five proposals, which citizens and residents of the euro area could vote on online. The design by Georgios Stamatopoulos, a coin designer working at the Bank of Greece (griechische Zentralbank), was chosen.
Slovenia’s participation placed the country within this joint euro-area issue. Slovenia had joined the European Union in 2004 and was the first of the countries admitted in 2004 to introduce the euro in 2007. The coin therefore does not refer to an exclusively Slovenian anniversary, but to a commonly used European symbol and its adoption by the European Communities at the time.
eBay price analysis
For this issue, there is a price history based on actual eBay sales – with median, range and number of sales
View price analysis2 Euro BU
- Mintage
- 1,000,000
- Market price
- €6.50
- Edge lettering
- SLOVENIJA •
Mintage by issue type
BU
1,000,000