Meg Hourihan recently moved to Paris (ah, Paris!) and wrote in her weblog about her inability to handle the Euro currency:

I am in a blind panic. My wallet is filled with ten pounds of strange change I cannot distinguish.

The 1 cent coin

With a diameter 16.25 mm, a thickness of 1.67 mm and a weight of 2.30 grams, this coin is minuscule and thus easily recognisable - it's simply the smallest coin you'll find in your wallet. It's not even made of copper, it just looks like it is - it's actually made of steel, only covered with copper.

It is of minimal value and seems to be reproducing in your wallet (usually you have lots of them) and is therefore universally hated by consumers all over Europe. In Austria, it replaces the equally despised 10 Groschen coin, which was worth even less (1 cent = 14 Groschen). The Finns are luckier: in Finland, the 1 cent coin is not in circulation at all, and several southern countries, most notably Greece and parts of Italy, also don't tend to use it much. In Austria and Germany it's highly appreciated by shopkeepers, because it allows them to end their prices in .x9, which is supposedly good for business as it makes goods look cheaper than they actually are.


The national sides of the 1 cent coin, left to right:
Belgium (King Albert II), Germany (oak twig), Greece (Athenian trireme), Spain (Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela), France (Marianne), Ireland (harp), Italy (Castel del Monte), Luxembourg (Grand Duke Henri), Netherlands (Queen Beatrix), Austria (gentian), Portugal (old royal seal), Finland (heraldic lion).

The 2 cent coin

With a diameter of 18.75 mm, the 2 cent coin is only marginally larger than the 1 cent coin, its thickness (1.67 mm) is identical, and the weight difference (3.06 grams) is barely noticeable. That should pretty much summarize the problems that people have with this coin: if you don't take a close look, it's virtually indistinguishable from the 1 cent coin - unless you're living in Austria, Greece or Italy, where there's at least a different motif on the reverse side of the coin.

Also, in all countries except Germany people weren't really used to the concept of a 2-value coin of such small denomination, so most people thought it just adds to the clutter in your wallet (even though it actually reduces it). Again, like the 1 cent coin, the 2 cent coin is not in circulation in Finland, and only rarely used in the touristy areas of Greece and Italy.


The national sides of the 2 cent coin, left to right:
Belgium (King Albert II*), Germany (oak twig*), Greece (caravelle), Spain (Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela*), France (Marianne*), Ireland (harp*), Italy (Mole Antonelliana), Luxembourg (Grand Duke Henri*), Netherlands (Queen Beatrix*), Austria (edelweiss), Portugal (old royal seal*), Finland (heraldic lion*).
* indicates that the motif is the same as on the 1 cent coin.

The 5 cent coin

The 5 cent coin has a diameter of 21.25 mm and weighs 3.92 grams. Even though its thickness is the same as that of the 1 and 2 cent coins (1.67 mm), it is noticeably larger than both and easily discernible (even though, again, it helps if you're living in Austria, Greece or Italy, where there's a different motif on the back of the coin). It is also the first coin with which you can actually buy something - small things, agreed, like one single Haribo Happy Cola bottle, but hey, it's a start.

The 1, 2 and 5 cent coins are made of copper-covered steel, which tends to oxidise and scratch quickly. As a result, these coins look pretty ugly once they've been in circulation for a while, and people collecting euro coins have a tough time finding some which are in good condition. Still, while remotely useful, part of the reason why they're not too popular is that they always seem to look as if they've already travelled through thousands of dirty hands (which they probably have).


The national sides of the 5 cent coin, left to right:
Belgium (King Albert II*), Germany (oak twig*), Greece (modern tanker vessel), Spain (Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela*), France (Marianne*), Ireland (harp*), Italy (Coliseum in Rome), Luxembourg (Grand Duke Henri*), Netherlands (Queen Beatrix*), Austria (primula), Portugal (old royal seal*), Finland (heraldic lion*).
* indicates that the motif is the same as on the 2 cent coin.

The 10 cent coin

The 10 cent coin has a diameter of 19.75 mm, is 1.93 mm thick and weighs 4.10 grams. It's smaller than the 5 cent coin, but easily discernible as it has a totally different colour. It is the first of three coins to be made from so-called "Nordic gold", which isn't gold at all of course, but an alloy consisting of copper, aluminium, zinc and tin.

10 cents won't buy you much. You can get a piece of liquorice or fruit gum at a sweet shop, but that's about it. People here in Austria still have to get used to the fact that they're actually worth much more than the 1 Schilling coin they are kind of replacing - I find that many people spend their cents too easily, perhaps confusing them with our former Groschen coins. It's worse in Greece, where people were so used to high figures in prices that they aren't taking cent coins seriously and the government is now planning to start a campaign telling people to take better care of their cent coins to lower the risk of inflation.


The national sides of the 10 cent coin, left to right:
Belgium (King Albert II*), Germany (Brandenburg Gate in Berlin), Greece (Rigas Velestinlis), Spain (Cervantes), France (sower), Ireland (harp*), Italy (Botticelli's Venus), Luxembourg (Grand Duke Henri), Netherlands (Queen Beatrix*), Austria (Saint Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna), Portugal (old royal seal), Finland (heraldic lion*).
* indicates that the motif is the same as on the 5 cent coin.

The 20 cent coin

The 20 cent coin can easily be distingished from the 10 cent coin: with a diameter of 22.75 mm it's noticeably larger, with a thickness of 2.14 mm it is noticeably thicker, and with a weight of 5.74 grams it is also noticeably heavier. In addition to this, it is the only Euro coin that is not round, but has the so-called "Spanish flower" shape. It's the second of three coins to be made from Nordic gold (see entry on 10 cent coin for details).

What can you get for a 20 cent coin? In Austria, 20 cents is the minimum you have to pay to make a call from a public telephone. It's also what it costs now to weigh yourself at one of the public scales that you can find all over Vienna. Theoretically, the denomination is a great concept to reduce clutter in your wallet, but this was thwarted because many vending machines, most notably those for public transport tickets, refused to accept 20 cent coins. Some of them have now been reprogrammed to accept them after consumers protested; some still don't.


The national sides of the 20 cent coin, left to right:
Belgium (King Albert II*), Germany (Brandenburg Gate in Berlin*), Greece (Ioannis Capodistrias), Spain (Cervantes*), France (sower*), Ireland (harp*), Italy (sculpture by Umberto Boccioni), Luxembourg (Grand Duke Henri*), Netherlands (Queen Beatrix*), Austria (Belvedere Palace in Vienna), Portugal (old royal seal*), Finland (heraldic lion*).
* indicates that the motif is the same as on the 10 cent coin.

The 50 cent coin

The 50 cent coin can also easily be distingished from the 10 or 20 cent coin: its diameter is 24.25 mm, which makes it noticeably larger than the 20 cent coin, unlike which it is round again. At 2.38 mm it is noticeably thicker, and with a weight of 7.8 grams it is quite heavy. A few of these will substantially weigh down your wallet.

I checked for items that a 50 cent will buy you, but contrary to my expectations, I didn't find much. In some railway stations in the Vienna area, there are vending machines that will sell you chocolates (like KitKat bars) or other small sweets if you feed them 50 cents. You can make a 1-minute phone call from a public phone to someone with a cell phone or a 3-minute regular phone call, and at the D'più discount supermarket you get a box of raw pasta, but I'm afraid that's about it.


The national sides of the 50 cent coin, left to right:
Belgium (King Albert II*), Germany (Brandenburg Gate in Berlin*), Greece (Eleftherios Venizelos), Spain (Cervantes*), France (sower*), Ireland (harp*), Italy (Michelangelo's Campidoglio square with statue of Marcus Aurelius), Luxembourg (Grand Duke Henri*), Netherlands (Queen Beatrix*), Austria (Secession building in Vienna), Portugal (old royal seal*), Finland (heraldic lion*).
* indicates that the motif is the same as on the 20 cent coin.

The 1 euro coin

The 1 euro coin has a diameter of 23.25 mm, is 2.33 mm thick and weighs 7.5 grams, and is thus slightly smaller and lighter than the 50 cent coin. However, due to its different colour, it should be easily discernible.

The 1 and 2 euro coins spawned quite a controversy due to their nickel content. Many people are allergic to nickel, and for some obscure reason it seemed that people were more allergic to the new euro coins than to the old German coins, which actually contained more nickel. Then it turned out that this was possibly due to the fact that two different alloys (copper-nickel and nickel-brass) are used in the coins; if you add sweat, which is slightly acidic, you get a kind of battery effect between the two alloys, which releases more of the nickel than coins made of just one alloy would release. The coins are therefore universally hated by allergics all over Europe, even though a recent survey has shown that they are causing no more allergies than other coins worldwide.


The national sides of the 1 euro coin, left to right:
Belgium (King Albert II*), Germany (federal eagle), Greece (ancient Athenian 4-drachma coin), Spain (King Juan Carlos I), France (symbolic tree), Ireland (harp*), Italy (Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man), Luxembourg (Grand Duke Henri), Netherlands (Queen Beatrix), Austria (W. A. Mozart), Portugal (old royal seal), Finland (swans flying over a Finnish lake).
* indicates that the motif is the same as on the 50 cent coin.

The 2 euro coin

The 2 euro coin has a diameter of 25.75 mm, is 2.20 mm thick and weighs 8.5 grams. It is the largest of the coins, and its color scheme is also quite unique, so you should have no trouble identifying it.

Austrians hated the 2 euro coin at first, because they were not used to a coin of such high value. In the meantime, everybody has stopped complaining. Contrary to the Austrian 1 euro coin, which has been criticized as being a mere flat Mozart chocolate, the 2 euro coin carries the portrait of Bertha von Suttner, the highly popular Austrian Nobel Peace prize winner (she's so popular among my generation because she used to be on the 1000 Schilling bank note back in the 1970s and 1980s). The 2 euro coin is a nickel battery like the 1 euro coin, so general advice is not to keep it in your hand for too long.


The national sides of the 2 euro coin, left to right:
Belgium (King Albert II*), Germany (federal eagle*), Greece (Europa and the bull), Spain (King Juan Carlos I*), France (symbolic tree*), Ireland (harp*), Italy (Dante Alighieri), Luxembourg (Grand Duke Henri*), Netherlands (Queen Beatrix*), Austria (Bertha von Suttner), Portugal (old royal seal*), Finland (cloudberries and cloudberry flowers).
* indicates that the motif is the same as on the 1 euro coin.

Who's who on the Euro coins?

Albert II (b. 1934): King of Belgium since 1993.
Beatrix (b. 1938): Queen of the Netherlands since 1980.
Capodistrias, Ioannis (1776-1831): Regent of Greece 1823-1831.
Cervantes, Miguel de (1547-1616): Spanish poet.
Dante Alighieri (1265-1321): Italian poet.
Europa: daughter of Agenor; according to myth she was abducted by Zeus, who disguised himself as a bull.
Henri (b. 1955): Grand Duke of Luxembourg since 2000.
Juan Carlos I (b. 1938): King of Spain since 1975.
Marcus Aurelius (121-180): Roman Emperor from 161 to 180.
Marianne: symbol of France and the French Revolution.
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus (1756-1791): Austrian composer.
Suttner, Bertha von (1843-1914): Austrian pacifist writer and Nobel Peace Prize winner.
Velestinlis, Rigas (1757-1798): Greek revolutionary.
Venizelos, Eleftherios (1864-1936): Greek prime minister 1910-15, 1924, 1928-32, 1935.
Venus: Roman goddess.

A few facts about the different national motifs

• All coins are valid in all Euro countries, regardless of the country of origin.
• Monaco, San Marino and the Vatican have also issued coins in very limited editions, but all of these are in the hands of collectors and coin dealers by now and are worth a small fortune.
• Belgium and Ireland are the only countries with the same motif on every coin.
• Austria, Greece and Italy are the only countries with a different motif on every coin.
• Austria and Greece are the only countries where the value of the coin is visible on both sides of the coin.
• Of the four monarchies issuing Euro coins, only Spain does not have the monarch's head on every coin.