2 Euro commemorative coins

2 Euro

C o m m e m o r a t i v e C o i n s


2004
Image	Country		Date	Feature	Ref.	Volume
🔎		Greece	14 May 2004	Summer Olympics in Athens 2004	20001 20002 20005	35,000,000	•
	Description : None of the bronze statues by one of the most important sculptors of Greek antiquity, Myron, is preserved, which were still being praised centuries after his death. However, in 1781 a Roman marble copy of the discus thrower created around 455 BC was found on the Esquiline. On the occasion of the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens, Panagiotis Gravalos depicted the Discobolos on the first € 2 commemorative coin. On the left is the official designation "ATHENS 2004" of the 2004 Summer Olympics, including the five Olympic rings. On the right is the face value of the coin "2 ΕΥΡΩ" in Greek. The year "2004" flanks the 6 o'clock star halfway on each side. Above the head of the statue is a palmette the mint mark of the Greek mint Νομισματοκοπειο / Nomismatokopeio (Bank of Greece ‐ Mint) in Halandri. In its base, the designer's initials "ΠΓ" are shown on the left and the engraver Konstantinos Kazakos' initials "ΚΚ" on the right.

🔎		Finland	24 Jun. 2004	Fifth Enlargement of the European Union in 2004	20001 20002 20005	1,000,000	•
	Description : The coin shows a stylised branch from which ten leaves are sprouting. This is a metaphorical theme: the ten shoots represent the EU enlargement to include the ten new member states (Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia), while the ground provides the foundation for growth. Below this floor are written the letters "EU" and "ρ" (small Rho); one reads Euro. The "2004" at the very top of the ring, and the small Rho at the bottom divide the twelve stars of Europe into two lateral groups of six stars each. The two initials "M" at the bottom right stand for the designer Pertti Mäkinen and the mint director Raimo Tapio Makkonen respectively. The coin bears no designation of the issuing state. It was minted without a mint mark by the Finnish mint Suomen Rahapaja OY in Vantaa.

🔎		Luxembourg	26 Jul. 2004	Effigy and Monogram of Grand Duke Henri 1st coin of the Grand-Ducal Dynasty series	20001 20002 20005	2,481,800	•
	Description : Grand Duke Henri is depicted in profile on the left, and his monogram, an "H" under a royal crown, on the right. This has been applied in a sparkling appearing surface structure with the special minting technique called MSP (Minted Security Printing), whereby in parts of the coin specimens this partial motif appears differently with regard to the height of the placement and the lateral inclination ‐ as if tilted to the right or left. The twelve stars of Europe surround the monogram in a semicircle at the edge of the pill. The design concept comes from the Banque Centrale du Luxembourg - BCL (Luxembourg Central Bank), the portrait was originally created by Yvette Gastauer‐Claire, whose initials "gc" appear on the left lapel of the bust. At the bottom of the ring is the inscription "HENRI ‐ Grand‐Duc de Luxembourg" (Henri ‐ Grand Duke of Luxembourg), at the top the name of the issuing country "LËTZEBUERG ‐" (Luxembourg) and to the left the year of issue "2004", flanked on the left by the sails of the three‐masted clipper Nederland the logo of mint master Maarten Brouwer and on the right by a staff of Hermes the mint mark of the Dutch mint Koninklijke Nederlandse Munt in Utrecht.

🔎		Italy	13 Dec. 2004	Fifth Decade of the World Food Programme	20001 20002 20005	16,000,000	•
	Description : The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) began its work in 1963 ‐ its headquarters are in Rome. The humanitarian organisation is the most important institution of the United Nations in the fight against global hunger. It organises the supply of food to people in need after natural disasters, droughts or violent conflicts. In addition, the WFP also helps people in areas with a permanently poor nutritional situation and carries out development projects there. A globe tilted to the right with the inscription "WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME" forms the centre of the motif. Three ears of corn emerge behind it: maize, rice and wheat represent the world's staple foods. The ligature "RI" (Repubblica Italiana, Italian Republic) is depicted on the right, the ligatured initials "UP" of the designer Uliana Pernazza below, the "R" the mint mark of the Italian mint Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato in Rome on the left and the year of issue "2004" below. The twelve stars of Europe surround this design in three groups of four stars, separated by the three ears of corn.

🔎		San Marino	16 Dec. 2004	Bartolomeo Borghesi	20001 20002 20005	110,000	•
	Description : The coin motif shows the Italian historian and numismatist Bartolomeo Borghesi (1781‐1860) according to his monument in San Marino created by Giuseppe Romagnoli in 1904. In 1821 Borghesi moved his residence there and began publishing the Osservazioni numismatiche (numismatic observations) on coinage in the Roman Republic. In 1838 he was sent to Milan to represent the Republic of San Marino at the coronation of the Austrian Emperor Ferdinand I as King of Lombardo‐Venetia. On the right is the name of the issuing state "SAN MARINO", on the left "BARTOLOMEO BORGHESI", the letter "R" the mint mark of the Italian mint Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato in Rome and the initials "E.L.F." of the designer Ettore Lorenzo Frapiccini. The ring shows the twelve stars of Europe and the year of issue "2004" at the bottom.

🔎		Vatican City	16 Dec. 2004	75th anniversary of the Foundation of the Vatican City State	20001 20002 20005	85,000	•
	Description : The coin was minted to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the creation of the Vatican state and depicts St Peter's Basilica, built between 1506 and 1626, it is considered the most renowned work of Renaissance architecture and is the largest church in the world. Also depicted is St Peter's Square designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, together with the colonnades and the Vatican obelisk. The outline also shows the territory of the Vatican City, the smallest generally recognised state in the world and the only one with Latin as its official language. This territory does not include the extorial possessions of the Holy See such as the Patriarchal Basilicas and the Papal summer residence Castel Gandolfo. Since 1929 it has been an independent landlocked state within the city limits of Rome, the seat of the Pope as head of the Roman Catholic Church. To the left of the central motif are the words "75° ANNO DELLO STATO" (75th year of the State), the reason for issuing the coin and on the right the dates "1929 • 2004". In the same location is the letter "R" the mint mark of the Italian mint Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato in Rome, the logos of the designer Guido Veroi "VEROI" and "L.D.S. INC." (INC. = Incisore / Engraver) of the engraver Luciana De Simoni. At the top of the outer circumference are the twelve European stars and at the bottom the country name "CITTÀ DEL VATICANO" (Vatican City).

⇓ 2005 ⇓

References :
20001	Images taken with authorisation by the ECB ‐ Mail dated 20.Feb.2020 © "European Central Bank"	20002	Data mirrored from Wikipedia Page "2_euro_commemorative_coins" with friendly support of the guardians of that page.
20003	Not Applicable	20004	Coloured version of this Commemorative Coin in circulation EU‐legal‐technical specifications do not recongnise colour prints, but the EU is tolerate them, due to the facts that their numbers are very small and that they are sold in special packs and therefor are very unlikely to be used as currency.
20005	enlarged Images taken with authorisation by Gerd Seyffert © "Gerd Seyffert 2021"	20006	Not Applicable