Obverse. Photo © NumisCorner.com
  • 2 Euro 2006, KM# 246, Italy, Torino 2006 Winter Olympics
  • 2 Euro 2006, KM# 246, Italy, Torino 2006 Winter Olympics
Description

The 2006 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XX Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as Torino 2006, was a winter multi-sport event which was held in Turin, Italy, from February 10 to 26, 2006. This marked the second time Italy hosted the Olympic Winter Games, the first being the VII Olympic Winter Games in Cortina d'Ampezzo in 1956. Italy also hosted the Games of the XVII Olympiad in Rome in 1960.

Obverse

Depicts a racing skier and the visitor attraction of Turin, the Mole Antonelliana, above the skier's head, Winter Games; below the tower, the name of the host city TORINO; beside the skier's right thigh, the engraver's initials (MCC); also to the right of the skier, the year mark (written vertically); and finally, to the right of the tower, the monogram of the Italian Republic (RI) and the mint mark (R). The twelve stars of the European Union surround the design on the outer ring.

The Mole Antonelliana is a major landmark building in Turin, Italy, named after its architect, Alessandro Antonelli. A mole in Italian is a building of monumental proportions. Construction began in 1863, soon after Italian unification, and was completed in 1889, after the architect's death. Originally conceived of as a synagogue, it now houses the Museo Nazionale del Cinema, and is the tallest museum in the world. A representation of the building is featured on the obverse of the Italian 2 cent euro coin.

Engraver: Maria Carmela Colaneri (M.C.C.)

GIOCHI
INVERNALI
RI R
TORINO 2006
M.C.C.

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 ★

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
Italian State Mint and Polygraphic Institute (IPZS)

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