2 euro commemorative coins

€2 commemorative coins are special euro coins that have been minted and issued by member states of the eurozone since 2004 as legal tender in all eurozone member states.
€2 coins are the only denomination intended for circulation that may be issued as commemorative coins. Only the national obverse sides of the commemorative coins differ; the common reverse sides do not. The coins typically commemorate the anniversaries of historical events or current events of special importance.
Since 2012, the number of commemorative coins has been limited to two per country per year; previously only one was allowed. Issues of common commemoratives do not count towards the limit. The total number of commemorative coins placed in circulation per year is also limited. The commemorative coins must follow the design standards stipulated for regular €2 coins, with design limitations to guarantee uniformity.
Up to the end of 2024, 548 variations of €2 commemorative coins have been issued. Finland, Italy, Luxembourg, San Marino and the Vatican City are the only countries to have released at least one commemorative coin every year since 2004.
Though they have become collectibles, €2 commemoratives are different from non-standard denomination commemorative euro coins, which are officially designated as "collector coins", not intended for circulation and usually made of precious metals.
Commemorative coins shall bear a different national design from that of the regular coins and shall only commemorate subjects of major national or European relevance. Commemorative coins issued collectively by all Member States whose currency is the euro shall only commemorate subjects of the highest European relevance and their design shall be without prejudice to the possible constitutional requirements of these Member States. The 2-euro coin constitutes the most suitable denomination for this purpose, principally on account of the large diameter of the coin and its technical characteristics, which offer adequate protection against counterfeiting.
The basis for the euro coins is derived from a European recommendation from 2003, which allowed changing the national obverse sides of euro coins from 1 January 2004 onwards.
Regarding them, a series of restrictions apply:
The total number of such coins put into circulation per year should not surpass the higher of the following two numbers:
Since 2005, the recommendations for the design of the national sides of all the coins have been modified, which has also affected the designs of the €2 commemorative coins of the following years. See euro coins for more information.
The different States must inform each other of the new draft designs (both of the "regular" coins and the 2 euro commemorative coins) as well as the European Council and the European Commission, which must give your approval. One consequence of the above was the case of the 2 euro commemorative coin that Belgium planned to issue in 2015 on the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo, which caused complaints from France and Belgium's resignation from issuing such a coin. However, Belgium issued a collector's coin of 2.50 euros, taking advantage of the fact that these coins are not submitted to the prior information of their draft designs.
A Dutch law, which requires the portrait of the current head of state of the Netherlands and the words NAME (Koning/Koningin) der Nederlanden to appear on all coins issued by the Netherlands (for example, currently Willem-Alexander Koning der Nederlanden) was amended in 2007, so that the Netherlands could take part in the issuing program of the "50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome" common €2 commemorative coin, issued by all eurozone memder states; the amendment completely removed the requirement for €2 commemorative coins.
20 members of the eurozone and four microstates (Andorra, Monaco, San Marino and the Vatican City) have independently issued €2 commemorative coins, with Greece being the first country to do so.
The four microstates which also use the euro due to an official agreement with the European Union, do not issue the common €2 commemorative coins, issued by all the other eurozone members to commemorate events of Europe-wide importance, as they are not member states of the European Union.
There have also been five common €2 commemorative coins issued by all eurozone member states:
Three joint issues:
Thirteen coins series with a specific theme:
Issued designs are made public in the Official Journal of the European Union.
This article incorporates text by Official Journal of the European Union available under the CC BY 4.0 license.