35 Years of the Erasmus Programme

A blend of two defining elements of the Erasmus programme: its original intellectual inspiration — Erasmus himself — and an allegory of his influence on Europe. The former is evoked by one of the most familiar depictions of Erasmus; the latter by a network of connections that leap from beacon to beacon across the coin's surface, representing the countless intellectual and human exchanges between European students. Several of these connections form additional stars, born from the synergies between countries.

Fifth EU joint issue. All 19 eurozone states are releasing a coin with this design on various dates. The coins differ only in the inscription, which appears in the respective national language.

Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam, the Dutch humanist and theologian of the 15th and 16th centuries, is among the most influential scholars in European intellectual history. Through works such as "In Praise of Folly" and extensive editions of the Church Fathers, he shaped the reform debate of his time and set standards for critical philology and free thought. His educational ideal was rooted in the conviction that the study of ancient sources and open exchange between scholars across Europe would bring about intellectual renewal. This ideal made him the namesake of the European higher-education programme launched in 1987, which institutionally established cross-border exchange for students and teachers.

Since its launch, the Erasmus programme has given more than ten million people the opportunity to study, teach or complete an internship at a foreign university. It is regarded as the best-known education programme of the European Union and has fundamentally changed the European higher-education landscape: recognition procedures have been harmonised, inter-institutional networks built, and for many participants a semester abroad has become a natural part of student life. Austria was among the early active participating countries and continues to send and receive thousands of students each year through the programme. To mark the Erasmus programme's 35th anniversary in 2022, all euro states took part in a joint commemorative issue honouring both the programme and its intellectual roots.