Description

In January 2009, the sixteen euro-area countries jointly issued a commemorative euro coin to celebrate ten years of Economic and Monetary Union and the launch of the euro. The coin shows a stick figure which merges into the € symbol. It seeks to convey the idea of the single currency and, by extension, Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) being the latest step in Europe’s long history of trade and economic integration. The design was chosen out of a shortlist of five by members of the public across the European Union voting online. It was created by George Stamatopoulos, a sculptor from the Minting department at the Bank of Greece.