2 euro Portugal 2009, Ten years of Economic and Monetary Union and the birth of the euro

2 Euro Commemorative Coins Portugal 2009 Economic Monetary Union





Portuguese commemorative 2 euro coins - Ten years of Economic and Monetary Union and the euro 

 Commemorative 2 euro coins from Portugal 

 Description: The centre of the coin shows a stylised human figure whose left arm is prolonged by the euro symbol. The initials ΓΣ of the sculptor appear below the euro symbol. The name(s) of the issuing country in the national language(s) appear(s) at the top, while the indication 1999–2009 and the acronym EMU translated into the national language(s) appear at the bottom. The twelve stars of the European Union surround the design on the outer ring of the coin.



Ten years of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) and the birth of the euro. In January 2009, the sixteen euro-area countries (Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland.) jointly issued a commemorative euro coin to celebrate ten years of Economic and Monetary Union and the launch of the euro. Regardless of which country issued the coin, it bore the same design on the national side, normally reserved for a motif specific to that country. This was the second time the euro-area members had decided to collectively issue a commemorative coin. The first was in 2007, when the finance ministers of the then thirteen countries agreed to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome with a single commemorative coin. The design of the 2009 commemorative coin was selected among five proposed designs via an online vote, open to EU citizens and residents, which was held in February 2008. 140 000 people took part, with the winning design garnering 41% of the votes cast. The design is a primitive rendering of a human figure whose arm extends into the euro symbol. It is intended to represent the euro as the latest step in the long history of trade, from prehistoric barter to today's economic and monetary union. It was created by George Stamatopoulos (Γεώργιος Σταματόπουλος), a sculptor at the Bank of Greece. The artist's initials, ΓΣ, appear below the euro symbol. The name of the issuing country in the national language(s) appears at the top, while the indication 1999-2009 and the acronym ‘EMU’ (Economic and Monetary Union) translated into the national language(s) appear at the bottom. Total issuing volume: 86 585 000 coins

Date of Issue: 1 January 2009
Face value:     2 euro
Issuing volume: 1,285,000 coins
Diameter       25.75 mm
Thickness       2.2 mm
Weight       8.5 gr
Composition BiAlloy (Nk/Ng), ring Cupronickel (75% copper - 25% nickel clad on nickel core), center Nickel brass (75% copper - 20% zinc - 5% nickel)

Legend: UEM 1999 - 2009 (União Económica e Monetária) & PORTUGAL.
€2 Edge Inscription: The Portuguese €2 coin edge inscription is comprised of seven castles and five shields.
Mint: Imprensa Nacional e Casa da Moeda (INCM) (National Currency Mint House), in Lisbon, Portugal
Mint Marks: Abbreviation of the Lisbon Mint: INCM. Located on the right side, inner circle, above the 3 o'clock star.