The 1 euro coin (€1) is a euro coin with a value of one euro. It is made of two alloys: the inner part of cupronickel, the outer part of nickel brass. All coins have a common reverse side and country-specific national sides. The coin has been used since 2002, with the present common side design dating from 2007.
As of July 2019, there were approximately 7.5 billion one-euro coins in circulation, constituting 25.3% of all circulated euro coins by value and 5.6% by quantity.
History
The coin dates from 2002, when euro coins and banknotes were introduced in the twelve-member Eurozone and its related territories. The common side was designed by Luc Luycx, a Belgian artist who won a Europe-wide competition to design the new coins. The design of the one and two euro coins was intended to show the European Union (EU) as a whole with the then 15 countries more closely joined together than on the 10- to 50-cent coins (the 1- to 5-cent coins showed the EU as one, though intending to show its place in the world).
There were then 15 versions of the national sides (eurozone + Monaco, San Marino and the Vatican who could mint their own) and in each case there was a national competition to decide the design, which had to comply with uniform specifications, such as the requirement to include twelve stars (see euro coins). National designs were not allowed to change until the end of 2008, unless a monarch (whose portrait usually appears on the coins) died or abdicated. This happened in Monaco and the Vatican City, resulting in three new designs in circulation (the Vatican had an interim sede vacante design until the new Pope was elected). National designs have seen some changes, as they are now required to include the name of the issuing country: previously neither Finland nor Belgium showed this. , Austria, Germany and Greece are obliged to change their designs due this requirement in the future.
As the EU's membership has since expanded in 2004 and 2007, with further expansions envisaged, the common face of all euro coins of values of 10 cents and above were redesigned in 2007 to show a new map. This map showed Europe, not just the EU, as one continuous landmass; however Cyprus was moved west as the map cut off after the Bosphorus (which was seen as excluding Turkey for political reasons). The 2007 redesign coincided with the first enlargement of the eurozone in that year, with the entry of Slovenia. Hence, the Slovenian design was added to the designs in circulation. Since then designs for Cyprus, Malta, Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Croatia have been added as each of these states joined the eurozone. Andorra began minting its own designs in 2014 after winning the right to do so.
Design
The coins are composed of two alloys. The inner circle is composed of three layers (copper-nickel, nickel, copper-nickel) and the outer ring of nickel brass, giving the coin a two-colour appearance. The coin has a diameter of 23.25 mm, thickness 2.33 mm and a mass of 7.5 grams. The coins' edges consist of alternating segments: three smooth, three finely ribbed. The coins have been used from 2002, though some are dated 1999, which is the year the euro was created as a currency, but not put into general circulation.
Reverse (common) side
The reverse was designed by Luc Luycx and displays a map of Europe, not including Iceland and cutting off, in a semicircle, at the Bosphorus, north through the middle of Ukraine, then Russia and through northern Scandinavia. Cyprus is located further west than it should be and Malta is shown disproportionately large so that it appears on the map. Six fine lines cut across the map except where there is landmass and have a star at each end—reflecting the twelve stars on the flag of Europe. Across the map is the word EURO, and a large number 1 appears to the left hand side of the coin. The designer's initials, LL, appear next to Cyprus.
In 2007, the map was updated to reflect the EU's enlargements in 2005 and 2007. Other than depicting the newly added countries, the new design was much the same. The map was less detailed and showed no national borders. The vertical lines running across the rightmost third of the coin are interrupted in the middle to make way for eastern Europe.