National designs have seen some changes due to new rules stating that national designs should include the name of the issuing country (Finland and Belgium both do not show their name, and hence have made minor changes).Īs the EU's membership has since expanded in 20, with further expansions envisaged, the common face of all euro coins from the value of 10 cents and above were redesigned in 2007 to show a new map. This happened in Monaco and the Vatican City, resulting in three new designs in circulation (the Vatican had an interim design until the new Pope was selected). National designs were not allowed to change until the end of 2008, unless a monarch (whose portrait usually appears on the coins) dies or abdicates.

The national sides, then 15 (eurozone + Monaco, San Marino and the Vatican, who could mint their own), were each designed according to national competitions, though to specifications which applied to all coins, such as the requirement of including twelve stars (see euro coins for more). The design of the 1- to 5-cent coins was intended to show the European Union's (EU) place in the world (relative to Africa and Asia), as opposed to the one- and two-euro coins showing the 15 states as one and the 10- to 50-cent coins showing separate EU states. The common side was designed by Luc Luycx, a Belgian artist who won a Europe-wide competition to design the new coins. The coin dates from 2001, when euro coins and banknotes were introduced in the 12-member eurozone and its related territories.

The coin has been used since 2002 and was not redesigned in 2007 as was the case with the higher-value coins. All euro coins have a common reverse and a country-specific (national) obverse. It is the lowest-value coin in the Eurozone the next highest are the 2 and 5 euro cent coins. The 1 euro cent coin (€0.01) has a value of one hundredth of a euro and is composed of copper-covered steel. Globe with the EU-15 highlighted next to the denomination shown in Latin characters

Composition of 20 cent euro coin