Obverse. Photo © NumisCorner.com
  • 2 Euro 2010, KM# 1152, Spain, Juan Carlos I, UNESCO World Heritage, Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba
  • 2 Euro 2010, KM# 1152, Spain, Juan Carlos I, UNESCO World Heritage, Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba
Description

Spain started the commemorative coin series Patrimonio de la Humanidad de la UNESCO (UNESCO World Heritage) in 2010, commemorating all of Spain's UNESCO World Heritage Sites, which could continue until 2050. The order in which the coin for a specific site is issued coincides with the order in which they were declared a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Obverse

Depicts the Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba, mintmark (crowned M) on the left, country name and date below. The outer ring contains the twelve stars of the European Union.

The Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba (Spanish: Mezquita-Catedral de Córdoba), also known as the Great Mosque of Córdoba (Spanish: Mezquita de Córdoba) and the Mezquita, whose ecclesiastical name is the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption (Spanish: Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción), is the Catholic cathedral of the Diocese of Córdoba dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and located in the Spanish region of Andalusia. The structure is regarded as one of the most accomplished monuments of Moorish architecture.

The Great Mosque was built in the context of the new Umayyad Emirate in Al-Andalus which Abd ar-Rahman I founded in 756. Abd ar-Rahman was a fugitive and one of the last remaining members of the Umayyad royal family which had previously ruled the first hereditary caliphate based in Damascus, Syria. This Umayyad Caliphate was overthrown during the Abbasid Revolution in 750 and the ruling family were nearly all killed or executed in the process. Abd ar-Rahman survived by fleeing to North Africa and, after securing political and military support, took control of the Muslim administration in the Iberian Peninsula from its governor, Yusuf ibn Abd al-Rahman al-Fihri. Cordoba was already the capital of the Muslim province and Abd ar-Rahman continued to use it as the capital of his independent emirate. Construction of the mosque began in 785 (169 AH) and finished in 786 (170 AH).

Engraver: Alfonso Morales Muñoz

M
ESPAÑA 2010

Reverse

A geographical map of Western Europe spans the outer ring and inner core on the right side of the coin. The inscription 2 EURO is superimposed over the map of Europe, with the numeral “2” located in an open field representing the eastern Atlantic Ocean.

12 stars are located on the right side of the outer ring, with six stars atop the map of Europe and six stars below it; six vertical stripes cut across the inner core of the coin, visually connecting the upper and lower star segments.

Luc Luycx, a designer at the Royal Belgian Mint, designed the Euro’s common reverse; his initials, LL, are seen on the right side of the design, just under the “O” in “EURO.”

2 EURO
LL

Edge

The sequence "2 ★ ★" repeated six times alternately upright and inverted

2 ★ ★ 2 ★ ★ 2 ★ ★ 2 ★ ★ 2 ★ ★ 2 ★ ★

2 Euro

UNESCO World Heritage
Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba

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KM# 1152 Schön# 471
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Characteristics
Type Commemorative Issue (Circulating)
Material Bi-Metallic
Ring Cupronickel
Center Nickel Brass
Weight 8.5 g
Diameter 25.75 mm
Thickness 2.2 mm
Shape round
Alignment Medal
Mint
Royal Spanish Mint (FNMT-RCM)

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