The €2 coins with a commemorative design are regular coins , which are accepted as legal tender in all euro-area countries. Although these €2 coins with a commemorative design are more commonly referred to as commemorative coins, they are nonetheless officially classed as “standard” regular issue coins, which, like all other regular issue coins, are brought into circulation in large quantities by the Bundesbank. For reasons of simplicity, the literature pertaining to these coins on the relevant websites of the Federal Ministry of Finance, the Münze Deutschland and the European Central Bank also refers to these coins as commemorative coins.

In line with European agreements, the German government has decided to bring an additional €2 commemorative coin into circulation each year with a different national motif on the reverse side. The first coin series marking the federal states consists of a total of 17 different €2 coins (16 coins bearing a unique symbol or building specific to the respective state and one coin featuring the Bundesrat as a constitutional body). The series began in 2006 with the federal state of Schleswig-Holstein and the “Holsten Gate” as its motif and is meanwhile ended.

In January 2023 the “Federal States II” series started, following on thematically from its successful predecessor. The coins will be issued in the same order as the presidency of the Bundesrat (the upper house of the German parliament representing the federal states).

The €2 coins are circulation coins despite the special motif. All €2 coins are legal tender across the entire euro area, unlike collector coins, which are only valid in the country in which they are issued (in Germany: €5, €10, €20, €25, €100 and €200).

On the websites of the European Commission (EC) and the European Central Bank (ECB) the €2 commemorative coins of all the countries are displayed.