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CC 56 2009
Coin set
BU
BU Mint Set
Greece · 10 years EMU
Mintage7,500
Issue price€20.00
Issue date1 Jan 2009
PackagingCoin set
Edge letteringΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΗ ΔΗΜΟΚΡΑΤΙΑ + ★
Market price€23.00
Issue occasion
The common issue commemorates ten years of Economic and Monetary Union and the creation of the euro on 1 January 1999. The common design features a stylized human figure whose left arm merges into the euro symbol; beneath it are the initials ΓΣ of the artist G. Stamatopoulos. The design is completed by the respective country name, the date “1999–2009”, the acronym for Economic and Monetary Union in the respective national language, and the twelve stars of the European flag.
The design
The coin features a stylized human figure in the center, whose left arm is extended by the euro symbol. The artist’s initials ΓΣ appear below the euro symbol. The name of the issuing country in the national language(s) appears along the upper edge of the design, while the date 1999-2009 and the acronym EMU, translated into the national language(s), appear along the lower edge.
The outer ring of the coin depicts the twelve stars of the European flag.
The outer ring of the coin depicts the twelve stars of the European flag.
Background on the topic
Economic and Monetary Union was established in several stages. A central legal basis was the Treaty of Maastricht (Vertrag von Maastricht), which laid down rules for the transition to a single currency. States wishing to participate had to meet the so-called convergence criteria. These concerned, among other things, price stability, public debt, the budget deficit, exchange-rate stability and long-term interest rates.
The European Central Bank (Europäische Zentralbank) was established in 1998. With the beginning of the third stage of Monetary Union, the exchange rates of the participating national currencies were irrevocably fixed and responsibility for monetary policy was transferred to the European System of Central Banks (Europäisches System der Zentralbanken). Initially, the euro served only as a book, payment and accounting currency, for example for banking transactions and the financial markets. Banknotes and coins did not enter circulation until 2002. Until then, national means of payment continued to be used in everyday life, although their value was already firmly linked to the euro.
The first participants included eleven EU states. Greece joined in 2001. Further countries followed after meeting the requirements: Slovenia in 2007, Malta and Cyprus in 2008, and Slovakia in 2009. Thus, at the time of issue, the euro area comprised 16 states. Not all member states of the European Union (Europäische Union) introduced the single currency.
The common monetary policy is conducted by the Eurosystem, consisting of the European Central Bank and the central banks of the euro countries. National budgetary and economic policy, by contrast, remained largely the responsibility of the individual states. This division also shaped later debates on coordination within Monetary Union.
Following the 2007 common issue commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Treaties of Rome (Römischen Verträge), the issue was the second common 2-euro commemorative coin of the euro countries. A uniform design on the otherwise nationally designed coin sides referred to the cross-border nature of the subject. Citizens and residents of the European Union could decide on the design in an online vote.
The European Central Bank (Europäische Zentralbank) was established in 1998. With the beginning of the third stage of Monetary Union, the exchange rates of the participating national currencies were irrevocably fixed and responsibility for monetary policy was transferred to the European System of Central Banks (Europäisches System der Zentralbanken). Initially, the euro served only as a book, payment and accounting currency, for example for banking transactions and the financial markets. Banknotes and coins did not enter circulation until 2002. Until then, national means of payment continued to be used in everyday life, although their value was already firmly linked to the euro.
The first participants included eleven EU states. Greece joined in 2001. Further countries followed after meeting the requirements: Slovenia in 2007, Malta and Cyprus in 2008, and Slovakia in 2009. Thus, at the time of issue, the euro area comprised 16 states. Not all member states of the European Union (Europäische Union) introduced the single currency.
The common monetary policy is conducted by the Eurosystem, consisting of the European Central Bank and the central banks of the euro countries. National budgetary and economic policy, by contrast, remained largely the responsibility of the individual states. This division also shaped later debates on coordination within Monetary Union.
Following the 2007 common issue commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Treaties of Rome (Römischen Verträge), the issue was the second common 2-euro commemorative coin of the euro countries. A uniform design on the otherwise nationally designed coin sides referred to the cross-border nature of the subject. Citizens and residents of the European Union could decide on the design in an online vote.
Interesting Facts
2009 annual set, containing all seven denominations from 1 cent to 1 euro as well as this €2 commemorative coin (face value: €3.88)