Two Euro 2013 Élysée Treaty, Coin from Germany - detailed information

The Two Euro coin (€2.00) is a circulating bi-metallic coin made of two alloys: the inner part of nickel brass, the outer part of copper-nickel. Like all the common circulation coins (from 1 cent to €2), the denomination is issued by the separate countries in the Eurozone and is legal tender in all of them, irrespective of which country has issued it. The denomination was introduced in 2002, when Germany retired the German Mark currency and introduced the Euro.

The coins have a common reverse designed by Luc Luycx in 1999 which shows a map of the European Union; it was changed in 2007 to reflect the enlargement of the Union. Each country has its own national obverse; the German regular obverse features the German Federal Eagle.

The €2 is also the only denomination in which circulating commemorative Euro coins are issued; these are also legal tender in all countries of the Eurozone, no matter which country issued them; commemoratives of other denominations are only legal tender in the issuing country. The number of commemorative coins is limited to two (before 2012 to one) per country per year (in addition to any common issue) and to 5 percent of the total mintage output. Given that the reverse is fixed, the commemorative designs are always on the obverse.

This coin commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Élysée Treaty, also known as the Treaty of Friendship. It was established by Charles de Gaulle of France and Konrad Adenauer of Germany in the Salon Murat of the Élysée Palace on 22 January 1963 for reconciliation between the two countries. With it, Germany and France established a new foundation for relations that ended centuries of rivalry between them. The treaty called for consultations between France and West Germany on all important questions and an effort to come to a common stance. Regular summits between high-level officials were also established.

Among the direct consequences of the Treaty are the creation of the Franco-German Office for Youth (l'Office franco-allemand pour la jeunesse / Deutsch-Französisches Jugendwerk), the creation of Franco-German high schools and the twinning between numerous French and German towns, schools and regions. The first meeting between the two heads of state took place at the private home of General de Gaulle at Colombey-les-Deux-Églises in September 1958. Since then French and German heads of state have kept up this strong relationship, often considered as the engine of European integration.

The coin is a joint commemorative issue of France and Germany - both countries issued commemoratives with the same design. The obverse was designed by Yves Sampo of Monnaie de Paris (the Paris Mint), Stefanie Lindner of the Berlin State Mint, and mother and daughter duo Sneschana Russewa-Hoyer and Alina Hoyer.

German Two Euro coins issued in 2013 have now been in circulation for ten years.