Peace

Radiating outward from the armillary sphere — part of the Portuguese coat of arms — the word for "peace" is inscribed in the 16 official languages spoken across the 20 eurozone countries as of January 2023. Running from centre left to upper right: the mint "CASA DA MOEDA", the designer "José S. Teixeira", the country name "PORTUGAL" and the year "2023".

The armillary sphere, which has featured as a central element in the Portuguese coat of arms since the 16th century, dates back to the Age of Discovery: the astronomical instrument was used to determine latitude at sea and became a symbol of Portugal's global standing under King Manuel I. That Portugal still bears it in its coat of arms today points to a national identity essentially defined by the sea, exchange, and the connection of distant cultures. This historical self-understanding forms the backdrop against which Portugal's 2023 issue depicts the word "peace" in the sixteen official languages of the twenty euro states — a community founded on a commitment to lasting peace after two catastrophic European wars.

The concept of peace unites very different linguistic traditions here: from the Latin-derived "Paz" in Portuguese, to the Greek "Ειρήνη", to the Slavic and Baltic variants found in countries that only joined the monetary union after the end of the Cold War. The equal standing given to all these languages reflects the fundamental principle of the eurozone as a community of sovereign states sharing a common currency while retaining their own languages and histories. Portugal, part of the monetary union since 1999 and having introduced euro cash in 2002, took the occasion of the eurozone's twentieth expansion to twenty members at the start of 2023 as the starting point for this issue.