10 Years of Euro Banknotes and Coins

The euro has grown into a major factor in Europe and around the world, and a global player in the international monetary system. The design elements arranged around the euro sign symbolise the currency's significance for citizens, the financial world (the ECB tower), trade (ships), industry (factories), the energy sector, and research and development (wind turbines). The artist's initials “AH” appear below the ECB tower. The names of the issuing states in their national languages are inscribed centrally above the design, with the dates 2002–2012 below.

Third European Union joint issue. All 17 eurozone states issued a coin with the same design on the anniversary date of 1 January 2012. The coins differ only in their inscriptions, which appear in the respective national language. San Marino also issued a coin with the same design, though it is not officially part of the joint issue.

On 1 January 2002, euro cash entered circulation in twelve countries of the European Union — one of the largest currency changeovers in history. Within a few weeks, the euro replaced national means of payment that had, in some cases, circulated for centuries: the Deutsche Mark, the French franc, the Italian lira. For people, this meant not only saying goodbye to familiar notes and coins but experiencing, in tangible everyday terms, the culmination of a long process of economic-policy integration. The euro as a shared currency had been in preparation since the Maastricht Treaty of 1992; its introduction as cash made it tangible in daily life for hundreds of millions of people. Estonia itself did not join the eurozone until 1 January 2011 — as the 17th member state — and was therefore not among the founding group of euro cash.

Ten years after this introduction, the euro had established itself in the international monetary system as the world's second most important reserve currency. The European Central Bank, headquartered in Frankfurt am Main, steers monetary policy for all eurozone states and, in this role, has contributed significantly to the stability of the common currency area. The euro not only facilitates trade within the single market but also shapes trade relations with third countries and international capital flows. All euro states — including Estonia as the newest member — marked the tenth anniversary of euro cash in 2012 with a joint commemorative issue, which appeared in identical design across Europe.