Pie chart of cost of acquiring coins by country
Pie chart of total number of coins in circulation by country
Pie chart of number of different coins in circulation by country
Claims to fame
Andorra
The first issue of Andorran coins was not available until 2015, but was dated 2014.
Austria
Until 2012, when a €2 CC was minted, no ordinary €2 was minted; in 2012 an ordinary €2 was issued as well as a €2 CC but it is not in any coin sets.
Belgium
A revised portrait of the king was issued in 2008 together with other changes but the portrait reverted to the previous one in 2009, supposedly because the portrait can only be changed every 15 years. In 2015 Belgium planned to issue a €2 commemorative coin marking the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo, but withdrew it after complaints from France (and re-issued it as a €2.50 coin instead). France itself changed its plans to issue a coin marking the Battle of Marignano in 2015.
Cyprus
No official coin set was issued in 2009, but all eight standard coins were minted - the only time this has happened in any country.
Estonia
Full standard sets have only been issued in 2011, 2016 and 2018. No coins were issued in 2013 or 2014 at all.
Finland
In 2006 Finland accidentally issued some €2 coins with the new map of Europe on one side, the only example of this (other countries used the old map when they should have used the new one). In 2019 the coin supplier was changed and only three different coins were issued.
France
French coins have a cornucopia symbol for the French mint and a symbol for the current mint master. There have been six over the years, starting with a bee in 1999. As of 2021, France has used exactly the same coin designs for the longest - 23 years - but is changing its €1 and €2 coins in 2022.
Germany
Five versions of each coin are issued, with mint marks A, D, F, G and J, corresponding to the five German mints in Berlin, Munich, Stuttgart, Karlsruhe and Hamburg respectively. When two €2 CCs were minted, no ordinary €2 was minted until 2019.
Greece
Two versions of each coin were issued in 2002, one with mint marks and one without, because foreign mints were called in to mint coins for the first year of circulation. Greece issued the first €2 CC, for the Athens Olympic Games in 2004.
Ireland
Ireland has only issued two of its own €2 CC, in 2016 and 2019, the equal fewest (with Cyprus) of any country.
Italy
The coin with the highest circulation across the eurozone is the Italian 20c of 2002 - more than 1,400,000,000 were minted.
Latvia
The original design for the €1 and €2 euro coin had the Latvian folk-maid with a flat headdress, but the actual coin has a rounded head shape. Only 5,000 2016 sets of coins were issued, the equal fewest of any country/year (with Lithuania in 2018).
Lithuania
Lithuania is the latest and 19th country to join the eurozone, and the 23rd to issue euro coins (expected to be joined by Croatia in 2023 and Bulgaria in 2024).
Luxembourg
Luxembourg was the first country to issue three €2 CCs in the same year, in 2012. In 2005 and 2006 some proof versions of the €2 CC had a different mint mark from other versions. This is because in 2008 a set was issued of the €2 CCs from 2004 to 2008 and by then Luxembourg had contracted with a different mint. Luxembourg must show the Grand Duke's portrait on all coins, which has meant creative ways of doing this when the common €2 CCs were issued - the coins show a different image at different angles. In 2018 Luxembourg started issuing three versions of every coin, with lion and bridge mintmarks, lion and caduceus mintmarks and bridge and caduceus mintmarks. The 20c version of the lion and bridge coins has the marks the other way round from the other coins.
Malta
In 2011 the coins omitted the usual 'NGB' designer's mark. The €2 CCs from 2012 onwards have a mint mark in coin sets but don't in the circulation versions.
Monaco
The first time no coins have been issued by a country once it had started minting coins was in Monaco in 2008. The most valuable coin across the eurozone is the €2 CC from Monaco from 2015 featuring the fortress on the rock - its market value is over €3700 (and it recently overtook the €2 CC from 2007 featuring Grace Kelly).
Netherlands
The Netherlands did not issue its own €2 CC until 2011, the longest a country has waited. The ordinary coins were technically non-compliant as they did not have the 12 European stars evenly spaced around the edge. This was rectified with the change of monarch in 2014.
Portugal
The €2 from Portugal in 2007 is the most valuable coin from an EU country (i.e. not one of the 'micro states'), at around €293.
San Marino
San Marino issued the common €2 CC in 2012 in line with the EU countries, without it being part of the official issue. In 2013, San Marino sought to issue a coin featuring John F Kennedy, but was refused.
Slovakia
Slovakia is the first country to issue its own €2 CC in the first year it issued euro coins, in 2009. This is normally discouraged, the rationale being that the people in that country need to get used to the ordinary coins first.
Slovenia
Slovenia has issued the same number of coins - nine - every year except 2015.
Spain
In 2010, Spanish coins were slightly redesigned to remove the raised stars and 'España'.
Vatican City
Two different sets were issued in 2005, one showing Pope John Paul II and one indicating the vacant papacy - the only time this has happened in any country. The rules have since been amended so that this is no longer permitted, meaning that the next vacant papacy, in 2013, was only commemorated with a €2 CC (but it is allowed to be an extra €2 CC from the usual limit). From 2017, the Vatican City is using its fifth coin design, the most of any country.
1999
The first year shown on euro coins, although they were not issued for circulation until 2002. Five countries show the year of minting rather than the year of circulation on their coins.
2000
2000 is the only year where exactly the same coins were issued as the previous year.
2001
2001 was the first time a new country minted coins - Monaco.
2002
2002 was the first year of coin circulation across the eurozone.
2003
2003 was the first year that a country only issued some coins and not all (Monaco did not issue 1c, 2c and 5c coins).
2004
2004 was the first year that €2 CCs were issued, the Greek coin being the first.
2005
2005 was the first year that a eurozone country did not issue a coin (Austria did not issue the ordinary €2), and the only time a country has issued two versions of each coin in the same year (Vatican City).
2006
2006 was the first year to show the new map of Europe on the reverse of a coin, but only by accident (Finnish €2 coin).
2007
2007 was the first year that a new EU country started minting coins (Slovenia). It was also the first time a common €2 CC was issued and that any country issued two €2 CCs (Finland, Germany, Luxembourg, Portugal). The total number of different coins reached 1000. Several countries changed to the new map on the reverse of the 10c - €2 coins.
2008
2008 was the first time two countries joined the eurozone in the same year (Cyprus and Malta). The remainder of the countries changed to the new map on the reverse of the 10c - €2 coins.
2009
2009 was the first year that more than 200 different coins were issued in the same year - 204.
2010
Malta and Monaco only issued €2 coins in 2010.
2011
The number of coin-issuing countries reached 20 with the arrival of Estonia.
2012
2012 was the first year with 3 €2 CCs from one country (Luxembourg). The total number of different coins reached 2000.
2013
2013 was the first year that Luxembourg did not issue as many €2 commemorative coins as it could.
2014
Belgium accidentally issued one of its €2 commemorative coins with both the Dutch and Italian edge inscriptions.
2015
The fourth common €2 was issued by 19 countries (plus San Marino unofficially), more than ever before.
2016
The total number of different coins reached 3000.
2017
Portugal issued its only coloured coin to date. The Vatican City stopped showing its head of state on its coins.
2018
The most coins - 270 - to be issued in one year were issued in 2018. For the first time, one coin (the €1) was issued in every country.
2019
Finland only issued 5c and €2 coins, having issued all eight every year since 1999.
2020
The total number of different coins reached 4000.
2021
Lithuania accidentally issued some CC coins with the Latvian edge inscription.