Erasmus 2€ special coin in circulation starting on July 1st

Written By Antti Mäkelä

At the initiative of the European Commission a special 2€ coin with a single national design will be issued by all euro area Member States to mark the 35th anniversary of the Erasmus programme.

The Erasmus Programme ("EuRopean Community Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students") is a European Union (EU) student exchange programme established in 1987. Erasmus+, or Erasmus Plus, is the new programme combining all the EU's current schemes for education, training, youth and sport, which was started in January 2014. 

The European Commission organised an open competition for the design of the joint 2€ commemorative coin. The coin, designed by Joaquin Jimenez, General Engraver at Monnaie de Paris, was selected after receiving more than 22,000 public votes (out of 72,000 voters). In total, there were 70 submissions of coin designs for the competition.  

“How can we not associate the programme with its historical intellectual inspiration! For this reason, I have chosen to evoke the links that have united students from all countries for 35 years, while subjecting them to the benevolent gaze of their godfather, dear Erasmus... ”

Obverse 

The design is a mix of two major elements of the Erasmus programme: the original intellectual inspiration, Erasmus himself, and the allegory of its influence over Europe. The first one is symbolised by one of the most known depictions of Erasmus. The second one is symbolised by a beam of links going across the coin from a beacon to another, representing the numerous intellectual and human exchanges between the European students. As a reference to Europe, some of these links form other stars, born from the synergy between the countries. Figure 35, for the 35th anniversary, comes out from the stars in a contemporary graphical style. 

Reverse

A geographical map of Western Europe spans the outer ring and inner core on the right side of the coin. The inscription 2 EURO is superimposed over the map of Europe, with the numeral “2” located in an open field representing the eastern Atlantic Ocean. 
 
12 stars are located on the right side of the outer ring, with six stars atop the map of Europe and six stars below it; six vertical stripes cut across the inner core of the coin, visually connecting the upper and lower star segments. 
 
Luc Luycx, a designer at the Royal Belgian Mint, designed the Euro’s common reverse; his initials, LL, are seen on the right side of the design, just under the “O” in “EURO.” 

Antti Mäkelä
Previous

Share the fun in Coiniverse!
Next

Coiniverse Pro is here.