At the initiative of the European Commission, a €2 coin with a single national design will be issued by all euro area Member States to mark the 35th anniversary of the Erasmus programme. Against this backdrop, the German government has decided to mint a €2 commemorative coin to mark 35 years of the Erasmus programme, to be put in circulation starting on 1 July 2022.

The motif on the picture side (national side) was the winning design of an online vote conducted according to a procedure recommended by the European Commission in which European Union citizens were given the opportunity to choose between six different designs. It was designed by Mr Joaquin Jimenez, a French medallist who works for the Monnaie de Paris (French mint), and shows a mix of two main elements from the Erasmus programme: the original intellectual inspiration – Erasmus himself – and the allegory of his influence in Europe. The former is symbolised by one of the most well-known images of Erasmus. The latter is portrayed by beams of connections that stretch from one beacon to the next across the coin, representing the countless intellectual and personal exchanges between European students. In reference to Europe, some of these connections form stars that emerge from the synergies between the countries. The anniversary number 35 stands out from the stars in a contemporary graphic style.

The only differences in the picture side of the coin in the individual euro Member States are the location and spelling of the country name or country code, the national mint marks and, in some cases, the spelling of the reason for issue.

The European side corresponds to the common reverse side of the regular issue €2 coin in circulation since 2007, which depicts a map of Europe without national borders.

The technical parameters of the €2 commemorative coin are the same as those on any regular issue €2 coin.

As on current German €2 commemorative coins, the edge of the commemorative issue bears the inscription: “EINIGKEIT UND RECHT UND FREIHEIT” (UNITY AND JUSTICE AND FREEDOM) and a stylised Federal eagle.

The minting volume to be brought into circulation is a maximum of 20 million coins.

The coin will be valid as legal tender throughout the euro area.

The mint condition coins will be brought into circulation at their face value (€2) at the branches of Deutsche Bundesbank.