The great part about travelling through most of the European Union is you don’t have to spend time trying to get the hang of different coins for each country, once you have the eight euro coins down in one country, you’re ready to go. Even though the Euro coins are all the same size and shape, how many people have actually stopped to notice the different designs on the obverse of the coin? Though the reverse of the coin is the same no matter where you may be in the Eurozone, have you ever stopped to speculate the unique designs on the obverse? Though many countries have eight different designs, one for each coin, we’re just going to take a look at the most emblematic of them all, the one euro coin, and what it’s design represents for each country.
Austria – One of the most famous Austrian composers, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart along with his signature
Belgium – Portrait of King Albert II and his royal monogram
Cyprus – The Idol of Pomos, a prehistoric sculpture from the Cypriot village of Pomos which dates back to the 30th century BC
Estonia – Silhouette of the map of Estonia inscribed with the word Eesti (Estonia)
Finland – Two Whooper Swans (the Finnish national bird) flying over a Finnish landscape
France – A tree contained in a hexagon with the motto Liberté Egalité Fraternité (Liberty, Equality, Fraternity)
Germany – The German eagle, symbol of the country’s sovereignty
Greece – Picture of a drachma coin, an ancient Greek currency dating back to the 5th century BC
Ireland – A harp, the traditional symbol for Ireland since the Middle Ages, based on the Brian Boru harp, housed in Trinity College
Italy – Leonardo da Vinci’s drawing of the Vitruvian Man
Luxembourg – Portrait of Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg
Malta – The Maltese cross, also known as the Amalfi cross, is the symbol of an order of Christian warriors known as the Knights Hospitaller or Knights of Malta
Monaco – Portraits of Prince Rainier III and Prince Albert II
Netherlands – Portrait of Queen Beatrix, with her title written vertically
Portugal – Old Portuguese royal mints and seals within a circle of seven castles and five shields with silver bezants (coins). Similar to the coat of arms and flag of Portugal
San Marino – Sammarinese coat of arms
Slovakia – The Coat of arms of Slovakia, known as the “Double Cross on Three Hills”
Slovenia – Portrait of Primož Trubar, a Slovenian Protestant reformer, with the inscription “Stati inu obstati” (To Exist and Persevere)
Spain – Portrait of King Juan Carlos I
Vatican City – Portrait of Pope John Paul II
How many of these euro coins have you had in your pocket? If you’re still missing some of them now’s the time to get cheap flights across Europe.
