Austrian to design special Euro coin

An Austrian has been chosen to design a mint marking the 10th anniversary of the introduction of the Euro as the European currency.

Manfred Andexlinger’s blueprints came first in an online poll with an approval of 34 per cent of participants. The Austrian designer beat 800 competitors to create the special two-Euro coin which will be introduced next year. Around 90 million units of the anniversary coin will be produced. It will depict a family, a housing estate, a factory and wind turbines, Andexlinger revealed today (Fri).

Seventeen of the European Union’s (EU) 27 member states, including Austria, are using the Euro as their sole currency. The term Eurozone describes these 17 nations. The Eurozone’s financial and economic stability has been questioned by several influential economists and commentators due to the critical condition of debt-ridden countries like Ireland, Portugal and Greece which have already received or await financial support from the EU and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).