The recent news that the US has stopped minting 1 cent coins reminded me of the debate surrounding the 1 & 2 cent coins in Europe . Some countries in the Euro zone have already stopped minting and /or circulating 1 and 2 cent coins , rounding prices to the nearest 5 cent and even in the countries that still mint them , rising prices mean that there is less and less demand for these lowest denominated coins . And that is to say nothing of the rise in cashless payment which decreases the need for physical money in general .
So I would like to ask - Should the EU stop minting the 1 and 2 cent coins ? All arguments for and against this are welcome .
Do we know how much it costs to strike these coins? If it's similar to the USA where each penny costs 3.7 cents to produce, then indeed these low denominations should be terminated.
I suppose the answer varies depending on each member state. Some outsource the minting and this has got to be rather expensive. It doesn't create jobs at home; there is transport and security expenses; etc.
If the coins are needed, they should be minted. Mints make enough profit with higher denominations to make up for the losses generated by the smaller coins. Here in Finland even the 5 cent piece is more of a nuisance than an actual piece of currency. But the Eurozone is very diverse, one answer doesn't work for all of us.
As long as new countries are added to the eurozone the 1 and 2 cent coins are needed. Otherwise it is too easy to use a rounding to 5 cent as an argument that the euro introduction makes everything more expensive.
Absolutely scrap them, and follow up with the 5 cent soon as well. Here in Spain they don't bother with 1 & 2 at the moment. They just wear holes in your pocket. Pointless coins.
I think 1 cent and 2 cent should be retained as long as they are needed. I was recently in France, and Germany. I spent cash in both countries, and received 1 cent coin in change. The coins are used. Also, in Poland 1 grosz, and 2 groszy coins are used. 1 grosz is approximately 1/4 Euro cent. Ireland and Finland both use rounding. The lowest coin in circulation in Ireland is 5 cent. The coins themselves last decades.
The giving out is not an indication of use, the cent was also given out and many people threw them in the trash afterwards or ended up in a big jar.
In my everyday shopping I predominantly use cash and I hope I will be able to for a long time. But 1, 2 and to an extent 5 cents are a hassle, also old people paying to the cent can take for ever for a sub 10 cent value.
These were my throw in jars after a bit more the a year, when I kept track out of curiosity (with spending many of the ones I got and emptying my wallet once a week).
If there were coin exchanger machines that give you coupons to shop with would be nice but the only ones around here a from 3rd parties and take a 10% cut … no thank you.
They would not have had it in their till if the coin was not in use. I am in France and Germany several times a year, and receive 1 and 2 cent coins in change where appropriate.
The German coins I get are often shiny and newly issued by the looks of them. Date is several years ago 2022, I think.
It is a novelty, so I tend to keep the coins.
Heh, Polish supermarkets sometimes actually give a discount to receive small change! I always carry 99 groszy with me in small change so that I can quickly pay an exact amount - broken after the first shop, next shop sometimes will take a short amount.
I am in Ireland, and have recently started collecting the Euro cents, want to get one of each from each country. I started by raiding the old jar on the shelf where anything 10c and under goes to find it's peace, then I checked values on Numista…
50c swap value on an Irish 2015 UNC 1c!!! This is not an anomaly, I checked a few denominations and years, all high in UNC standard coins (not proofs or sets). Clearly some people love them. Maybe Numista can save the flagging economy 😉
I know, and yes, you can still spend them. All euro cents are legal tender in the whole zone and many member states are still minting them, so they still appear, but everything is generally priced in multiples of 5 over here.
Ireland is a very small population, so mintage is very low and it's euro coins carry a Numismatic premium, I only realised recently how high this premium is.
Probably very few non European collectors who will pay over and above to fill a gap in their collection. The pricing data then stays low in samples and high in value. Below UNC samples, or German samples appear to generally be closer to face value.
I am negotiating a swap with a Canadian and will include a Christmas present of 1 to 20c of AU to UNC Irish euro cents if it succeeds.
On one hand, I do get the argument that “If they weren't needed, we wouldn't make them” but I don't think they're long for this world.
I think the same about our 1p, 2p coins here in the UK. Possibly even our 5p. When we ditched our half-penny back in 1984 it was near worthless then. It'd be worth ~4p adjusted for inflation in today's money.
They're simply a burden. No-one carries them, they end up either in charity tins on the counter, in jars back home, or often just freely discarded.
That being said, we've minted so many of them historically, it seems we aren't likely to run short any time soon.
Kind of seems we have them so might as well use them but not bother making new ones. 🤷♂️
Given the similar-ish value of Sterling to Euro, I suspect a similar train of thought exists in the Eurozone.
Things sure do move on. Growing up in RSA we had a 1/2c, which now would equate to about 1/40c in Euro. Importantly, the half cent was what one chappies bubble gum cost at the corner kafee, so if it went out of circulation, my grocery basket would have inflated by 100% overnight 😭
If they are minted and put into circulation it's OK with me, I'll still collect them. If not, then I'll not cry, but be a bit disappointed, since it's 2 or 3 coins less per country per year. The usefulness of said coins is a thing a part, I like them, that's all.
I also like them as a collectibles, but unless the euro enters deflation like the yen (unlikely), their circulation demise is inevitable, like the US 1c. Under hyperinflation the 1 Trillion Zim dollar note could no longer buy a loaf of bread. Their currency was reset a few times with new coins and notes then issued. This kind of thing happened in Germany as well between the world wars.
1oz of gold will always be 1oz of gold however, and whatever fiat fairytale is attached around that is a matter of perspective. Of interest in recent news is a 2026 Italian budget proposal.
TO Sjoeland, Don't worry, there will soon be replacements for 1,2,5 cents. 5 Euro coins for circulation will be on the cards I'm sure .
Again with reference to the Irish coins, aren't they boring ? A Harp. The old currency was great with all the animals, very nice, and with the new shinier Euro coins they would look fabulous and rival any others, don't you think?
Should be up to the individual countries, poorer countries ay want to keep them, whereas richer countries and ones like the Netherlands and Finland, who pretty much don't use change at all now - should scrap them But still issue them as collectables and in the sets.
The raw economics of such coins render them useless, they have to be minted in steel or aluminium, as copper and bronze are getting more expensive and the face value of such pieces is negligble now as well. I really think they should make the 10 cent coin the lowest and scrap the 5 cent too. Here in New Zealand, our 10 cents worth around 5 eurocents, is the lowest coin and it gets barely any use, you can't buy anything with it beyond like a single lolly (piece of candy).
No doubt Europe being Europe, the final decision will come from Brussels and the Euro Union will have to fall in line. They will probably scrap the 1 and 2 cents and likely the 5 cent too. They managed to get rid of the €500 note with few issues, so the other end of the value spectrum should be even less hassle.
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
Ive asked a few folks in my town if they use the low denomination coins and the majority of people just dont use the 1 and 2 cent coins. They either throw them away on the ground and overtime they get messed up, or store them in a jar and never touch again which is what i do 😁
But generally speaking, if people use the cent coins they use it in a self checkout machine where you just throw all the coins inside and it counts them, which pretty much speaking is how everyone uses the cents, because picking exact change at a cashiers register takes ages. Everyone ive asked just chugs all of the small cents into the self checkout and calls it a day, but some people use a coinstar to get a discount check which takes a 10% fee plus 25 cents, which is a horrible tradeoff.
Generally speaking if we stop producing the 2 cent coin literally nobody would notice, although same cannot be said about the 1 cent coin since its still quite needed, even if it cant buy anything on its own.
Agreed with above, however if I was the emporer of Europe (sorry Ursula and Kaja 🤣), I would decree a new €50 1/2oz silver and €500 1/10oz gold euro coin for circulation. 1/10oz gold would look well in a silver bimetallic surround.
This new coinage should buffer us, the people, from the tsunami of fiat fiscal inflation madness that is imminent…
Of course, on the reverse, the map will be replaced by my head. The Euro will be renamed to the Mick, so whenever you trade somebody will be taking the Mick. Numismatists of Europe will unite and bring me to the status of supreme leader in the first pan European general election. I promise to end the war in one week, I have a perfect plan, the best plan ever...
Disclaimer: this is a political satire. If you were allowed to vote for a European leader, please don't vote for me. 😅
I promise to end the war in one week, I have a perfect plan, the best plan ever...
Phew … one week, what about the same day you are sworn into office?
And remember, should someone offer you a peace prize, do grab it yourself and ring it around your neck before anyone with decency, manners and good taste, beats you to it.
Its going to happen at the first Numismatism World Games, and I will proudly accept the inaugural NWG peace prize. Thanks for bringing it up, because that is when I plan to announce the all bullion 10, 20 and 100 Mick.
Agreed with above, however if I was the emporer of Europe (sorry Ursula and Kaja 🤣), I would decree a new €50 1/2oz silver and €500 1/10oz gold euro coin for circulation. 1/10oz gold would look well in a silver bimetallic surround.
This new coinage should buffer us, the people, from the tsunami of fiat fiscal inflation madness that is imminent…
Of course, on the reverse, the map will be replaced by my head. The Euro will be renamed to the Mick, so whenever you trade somebody will be taking the Mick. Numismatists of Europe will unite and bring me to the status of supreme leader in the first pan European general election. I promise to end the war in one week, I have a perfect plan, the best plan ever...
Disclaimer: this is a political satire. If you were allowed to vote for a European leader, please don't vote for me. 😅
I think the issue has to do with an increasing laziness of people and decreasing ability to calculate without a cellphone.
Being in Germany - even though admittedly paying cashless most times - I regularly get 1 or 2 Cent coins in my change.
These are kept in the wallet and used next time I pay cash.
If I need to pay let‘s say as an example 61 Cents for something, I give 1,11 that I have in my wallet
and get 50 Cents in return. Of course I could have made it easy without having to think, could have given the 1 Euro coin only
but would then have received 39 Cents in many coins as change on top to the ones I already had.
But as usually the cashier has to type in 1,11 as cash received to know that I am to get a 50 Cents coin back, and is completely lost when I realize that I have those 11 Cents on top of the 1 Euro only when the amount given has already been typed in and then refuses the extra
coins, I am not surprised.
So basically a problem where there is no problem, but a good business for companies that take profit out of people‘s laziness like Coinstar.
in the end everything will be good - if it's not good, then it's not the end...
I think the issue has to do with an increasing laziness of people and decreasing ability to calculate without a cellphone.
Being in Germany - even though admittedly paying cashless most times - I regularly get 1 or 2 Cent coins in my change.
These are kept in the wallet and used next time I pay cash.
If I need to pay let‘s say as an example 61 Cents for something, I give 1,11 that I have in my wallet
and get 50 Cents in return. Of course I could have made it easy without having to think, could have given the 1 Euro coin only
but would then have received 39 Cents in many coins as change on top to the ones I already had.
But as usually the cashier has to type in 1,11 as cash received to know that I am to get a 50 Cents coin back, and is completely lost when I realize that I have those 11 Cents on top of the 1 Euro only when the amount given has already been typed in and then refuses the extra
coins, I am not surprised.
So basically a problem where there is no problem, but a good business for companies that take profit out of people‘s laziness like Coinstar.
Its less of a monetary problem or the material cost problem because the high denomination coins just pay off the loss, but an under usage problem. People would much rather prefer just toss a 1 euro coin and get 39 cents back instead of adding an extra 11 cents to get 50, not only because its faster but also because some shops just take the euro and give the extra coins you add on back.
Now i dont personally pay cashless and use cash, so i always get a few pennies in my change. Usually i just toss them in the self checkout with no fee to save time, plus if i overpay itll give me a higher denomination coin. Or instead, carry with me a small amount of around 50 cents in the small coins so i can use them whenever i need to, all at once, but it does take a bit of extra time to fiddle with the coins. So the problem is just the 1,2,5 and even the 10 cent coins being unable to buy anything on their own, but they work just fine otherwise. Although as i previously said if you remove the 2 cent coin, Germany would save money and basically nothing would change
What you describe in your second sentence is exactly what I mean: laziness combined with incapabilities to calculate even simple numbers. And then people are complaining about having too many heavy coins… Collecting 39 Cents to return is in no way faster than returning one coin of 50 Cents. Of course only if the cashier does not have to think the extra mile what to do now.
in the end everything will be good - if it's not good, then it's not the end...
Ive asked a few folks in my town if they use the low denomination coins and the majority of people just dont use the 1 and 2 cent coins. They either throw them away on the ground and overtime they get messed up, or store them in a jar and never touch again which is what i do 😁
But generally speaking, if people use the cent coins they use it in a self checkout machine where you just throw all the coins inside and it counts them, which pretty much speaking is how everyone uses the cents, because picking exact change at a cashiers register takes ages. Everyone ive asked just chugs all of the small cents into the self checkout and calls it a day, but some people use a coinstar to get a discount check which takes a 10% fee plus 25 cents, which is a horrible tradeoff.
Generally speaking if we stop producing the 2 cent coin literally nobody would notice, although same cannot be said about the 1 cent coin since its still quite needed, even if it cant buy anything on its own.
Frankly, I wonder why anyone is using Coinstar in a Eurozone country like Germany or Spain since many of these countries provide their citizens with free exchange of such coins in their national bank branches. Do you think people just don't know about it or consider it too complicated/time consuming to go there? Even from small towns, one can probably take the trip to the bigger city every few months or so and exchange all these coins at once.
Ive asked a few folks in my town if they use the low denomination coins and the majority of people just dont use the 1 and 2 cent coins. They either throw them away on the ground and overtime they get messed up, or store them in a jar and never touch again which is what i do 😁
But generally speaking, if people use the cent coins they use it in a self checkout machine where you just throw all the coins inside and it counts them, which pretty much speaking is how everyone uses the cents, because picking exact change at a cashiers register takes ages. Everyone ive asked just chugs all of the small cents into the self checkout and calls it a day, but some people use a coinstar to get a discount check which takes a 10% fee plus 25 cents, which is a horrible tradeoff.
Generally speaking if we stop producing the 2 cent coin literally nobody would notice, although same cannot be said about the 1 cent coin since its still quite needed, even if it cant buy anything on its own.
Frankly, I wonder why anyone is using Coinstar in a Eurozone country like Germany or Spain since many of these countries provide their citizens with free exchange of such coins in their national bank branches. Do you think people just don't know about it or consider it too complicated/time consuming to go there? Even from small towns, one can probably take the trip to the bigger city every few months or so and exchange all these coins at once.
The gas to drive to a bigger city costs more and takes more time than the fee in the coinstar, but id say people just don't know you can exchange them in a bank too
What you describe in your second sentence is exactly what I mean: laziness combined with incapabilities to calculate even simple numbers. And then people are complaining about having too many heavy coins… Collecting 39 Cents to return is in no way faster than returning one coin of 50 Cents. Of course only if the cashier does not have to think the extra mile what to do now.
I totally agree, if I pay with a note at a supermarket or say a cafe, if its a younger server, they will always get confused and you have to tell them what your change is, sometimes they will get a supervisor and that leads me to suggest that they are not teaching practical mathematics at school any more. Or more likely the syllabus is very dumbed down, and they learn more about loving the earth and how groovy their rights are and the rainbow of humanity. Don't even bother with coins on a teenager, they grew up post coins and giving most coins now have no purchasing power - they have no clue what they are.
The other factor is shops no longer taking cash and going to cards and electric phone payments (I don't do that phone stuff and have no idea how it works or want to), and greedy banks charging cash handling fees. Plus we have a media saying that cash is the domain of criminals, casinos, drug deals, mafia hits and money laundering - its no wonder people are going off it.
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
Don't even bother with coins on a teenager, they grew up post coins and giving most coins now have no purchasing power - they have no clue what they are.
Its not really their fault though, the modern plastic money is worthless now and subunits of money across the world have no real purchasing power, as you just said. Even though the education system would much rather teach diversity over maths it doesnt change the fact that there's no realistic need for the steel cents outside of exact change. In the modern day the majority of people either only exclusively use the high denomination coins or just not use cash at all and pay digitally. Even though i still personally use the steel cents i cannot deny the fact that theyre annoying to fiddle with and to even buy anything youll need a handful of them.
… if its a younger server (under 25) they will always get confused and you have to tell them what your change is.
Exactly that happened to me yesterday. In a cafeteria I spent £6.39 and gave the assistant a £20 note, plus £1 and two 20 Pence coins = £21.40 so was expecting £10 + £5 + 1 Penny (£15.01) change. No … my coins got pushed back to me, and various notes and coins taken from the till.
When I have the change available, I always carry in small change exactly £1, 1 Euro, or 1 Zloty - depending on where I am - in denominations which enable me to pay an exact breakdown. I also carry four units in 1 unit coins, enabling a fiver in coin or any sub-division thereof of the currency in question.
Ireland rounds, so 5 cent is the smallest; UK and Poland don't round. I have received discounts of a few Groszy occasionally in Polish shops so they can take my shrapnel rather than a note or larger coin.
Recently in the Nederlands, I paid in cash in Albert Heijn. The student-age cashier has no issues in producing the correct change when I handed them a coin balancing amount. Same in France, Carrefour Cherbourg, though the cashier was older. Both happily able to add and subtract :)
.. if its a younger server (Under 25 and anyone of race) they will always get confused...
🤔
The 100 meters? The human race? The “OMG they are not like me so must be stupid” race?
All people improve the skills they need to use every day. I used to store at least 20 phone numbers in my head, now I only remember my own.
In my lived experience, education is also not doled out equally to all peoples, and that does not make anybody stupid, just disadvantaged.
Sorry to call anybody out here, but just because the world is upside down does not neccesitate abandonment of universal principles of human dignity.
I mainly said that as they are unfamiliar with our currency. Many of our workers are from India and China and recent young immigrants and have not been educated about handling cash in school. Being that our coins are so worthless, they have little opportunity to see them.
Also at least 90% of all our transactions, even for small things like food, are not cash - so 90 - 95% of all transactions are a credit/debit card, paywave or that phone money thing they have now (Google Wallet or the spyware bigbrother way).
So when some old person or numis purist like me produce coins, they will panic and its more likely to be a person unfamiliar with them. Why waste time training up your temporoary and low ranking employees to handle an archaic method of payment.
Anyday now I expect to hear “The government is banning physical currency as a form of payment”.
But yes interpret what you will.
I love coins. Especially silver, gold and anything really old.
Member of the Royal Numismatic Society of New Zealand and the Auckland Numismatic Society
@Moneytane, objectively, the Numista forum is inhabited by people of many ages and ethnicities, so yes, your usage of the term "of race" relative to yourself will be interpreted from each individual's perspective.
As to OP's original question;
Inflation is inherent to currency, and the redundancy of the smallest physical units of money is guaranteed. If inflation is slow, wages and pensions etc. keep up. If it happens fast, the currency debases and wealth transfers away from ordinary people in a rather cruel and opaque way.
How I feel about the disappearance of the 1 and 2 euro cents is thus; concerned 😑
In the Netherlands the Dutch Mint stopped minting 1 (guilder) cent coins in 1980 due to the price of copper being higher than the value of a cent, at that time the production costs of a single cent were about 2 cents. Upto the introduction of the Euro, supermarkets still had prices in guilder cents, so already they rounded prices since 1980. The 1980 1 cent coin became a much desired collectors item in the early eighties, even for people not really collecting coins.
Quite soon after the introduction of the Euro, in September 2004, most shops started rounding cash payments as simply that was cheaper, becoming the second ‘rounding’ country after Findland. Two German supermarket chains kept using them for some years out of fear that costumers would mostly buy products such that amounts needed to be rounded down, then these supermarkets started rounding as well. Upto 2017 relatively large batches of 1 and 2 cent coins were still minted as compared to the batches still minted for collectors, I don't know why though.
So when paying in cash, amounts get rounded in the Netherlands. However, when paying by card the exact amount is charged.
For the Netherlands this works well, yet I find it charming to receive 1 and 2 cent coins when paying in cash in other countries using the Euro. It should be left to countries to decide their policy on this matter, not to the E.U. as a whole.
My personal favourite of 1 and 2 Euro cent designs (obtained from circulation):
Besides coins I love geometry. The avatar consists of each of the 35 hexominoes used precisely once. With the 5 large yellow shapes placed like this, the solution for tiling the remaining 30 hexominoes is unique.
I believe the esthetical and symbolic value of the small change hasn't really been mentioned yet. In euro countries like Austria, with a specific design for each denomination, any rounding would remove a nice design from circulation (if I'm not mistaken, most countries which round the prices have the same design for 1-5 cents, by the way). It would be a pity if these designs would disappear altogether, however uneconomic their production might be.
The 1 euro cent coins in The Netherlands and Finland at least are still produced for coin sets, so the designs are still there, but not in circulation…..
It is remarkable that the 5 countries with 8 different designs per series geographically form a cluster, with Austria, Italy and Slovenia having borders, San Marino being inside Italy and Greece being accross the Ionian Sea from Italy. The Austrian 2 cents has an edelweiss on it that should remain in circulation, as it is so typical for Austria. The 1 shilling coin also had an edelweiss design. And when I visited Turin this October I just had to take some pictures of the Mole Antonelliana, which is depicted on the Italian 2 cents coin.
Deda Lebeda mentioned that the ‘rounding’ countries have equal designs for 1..5 cents. For those being Finland, Ireland and the Netherlands at present, that is even true for 1..50 cents.
In Dutch there is the expression ‘wie het kleine niet eert is het grote niet weerd’, which translates to something like ‘he/she who does not appreciate the small things in life is not worthy of the big things in life’.
Besides coins I love geometry. The avatar consists of each of the 35 hexominoes used precisely once. With the 5 large yellow shapes placed like this, the solution for tiling the remaining 30 hexominoes is unique.
It is remarkable that the 5 countries with 8 different designs per series geographically form a cluster, with Austria, Italy and Slovenia having borders, San Marino being inside Italy and Greece being accross the Ionian Sea from Italy. The Austrian 2 cents has an edelweiss on it that should remain in circulation, as it is so typical for Austria. The 1 shilling coin also had an edelweiss design. And when I visited Turin this October I just had to take some pictures of the Mole Antonelliana, which is depicted on the Italian 2 cents coin.
Deda Lebeda mentioned that the ‘rounding’ countries have equal designs for 1..5 cents. For those being Finland, Ireland and the Netherlands at present, that is even true for 1..50 cents.
In Dutch there is the expression ‘wie het kleine niet eert is het grote niet weerd’, which translates to something like ‘he/she who does not appreciate the small things in life is not worthy of the big things in life’.
I absolutely agree, the edelweiss is an important symbol of Austria and I also think it should remain in circulation at least for this reason. In a similar way, Greek 1-5 cents are important symbols of the Greek navigation. Thanks to the Italian 2 cents or other similar pieces of small change, one can learn quite a lot about the respective country, after searching for additional information on places or people depicted on these coins. Not a coin in this case, but I remember I felt the similar way as you did when I really saw the Knippelsbro in Copenhagen after seeing its depiction on the Danish 200 kroner note.
Good remark about the geographical proximity of countries with 8 different designs, I've never really thought about it. Frankly, I don't understand why so few countries have different designs for 1, 2 and 5 cent coins (and sometimes even for higher denominations, as you pointed out). I know it takes time and money to prepare and manufacture different designs, but I would see them as something which shows the rich history and culture of each eurozone country to anyone who's willing to take notice of it. It really is a pity in my opinion that new Bulgarian euros only have three different designs. Similar for Portugal etc, especially if you consider the number of important national topics on earlier banknotes or stamps of these countries.
When you speak of boring coins I think the Irish get 1st prize . Apart from a very limited number of commemorative coins the standard coins all have a boring harp on them. The pre euro coins were much nicer with various animals and Celtic designs, very nice.
Since independence the obverse has always been the Irish harp, so I guess joining the EU meant sacrificing the reverse along with creative Numismatic freedom. This makes all the Irish euro coins boring, but also valued because of relatively low mintage.
They may be low mintage, but I can't give them away at prices less than I paid for them, same with Portuguese . No one seems to collect them. A similar issue arises with commemorative 2 euro coins, some of which are gorgeous and again some are very low mintage, but can't give them away either . Huge lots are selling for 3 to 3,50 per coin max.I am collecting German commemorative coins at present, and as there are 5 mints, it makes for a lot of coins, but love all the buildings depicted, and others. Very interesting historically.
When you speak of boring coins I think the Irish get 1st prize.
Second place would definitely be Germany, its just the Brandenburg Gate on the 10, 20 and 50 coins and the german eagle on the 1 and 2 euro coins. The 1, 2 and 5 have a leaf which is just the same one from the pre euro pfennig coins. The designs are such a downgrade from the Deutsche Mark, and im not even talking about the non circulating ones.
They may be low mintage, but I can't give them away at prices less than I paid for them, same with Portuguese . No one seems to collect them. A similar issue arises with commemorative 2 euro coins, some of which are gorgeous and again some are very low mintage, but can't give them away either . Huge lots are selling for 3 to 3,50 per coin max.I am collecting German commemorative coins at present, and as there are 5 mints, it makes for a lot of coins, but love all the buildings depicted, and others. Very interesting historically.
You need to make up some nonsensical error on the coins, then sell them for hundreds of €s 😂
In all seriousness though, if people are still collecting Euro coins in 50-100 years, it is the Irish & Portuguese ones that will be more valuable than the German ones, 1 or 2 million minted compared to the 36 million total (all 5 mints) of the German commemoratives. Even though they are slightly more interesting, but of course Germany uses its 2 per year commemorative allowance, so over 70 million, compared to Ireland that does 1 commemorative every 2 years?
„If your reply or post in the Forum stinks of AI, I will call you out! Knowledge comes from experience, the I in AI stands for incompetence.“
Good point, but I may be dead by then, so no future in these as investments.Silver coins are better. At least if I get hard up I can sell them as coins or scrap, or a better heirloom for my descendants.
