The euro came into existence on 1 January 1999. In 2002 notes and coins began to circulate.
The eurozone was raised with its first 11 Member States: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain. Later it was enlarged to others states: Greece (2001), Slovenia (2007), Cyprus (2008), Malta (2008), Slovakia (2009), Estonia (2011), Latvia (2014) and Lithuania (2015).
The values indicated below are a fair quotation to be used as reference for coin collectors. They do not represent any selling price.
PROOF - Proof coins are the highest quality commemorative coins. They are specially struck for collectors with highly polished dies and planchets, and feature frosted design elements and mirrored fields.
FDC (Fleur de Coin) – The perfect coin, as minted. Has no trace of wear, handling, scratches or contact with other coins.
BU (Brilliant Uncirculated) - BU coins are of a higher standard than circulating coins. The dies are polished and finished by hand. They offer a good level of design detail.
VF (Very Fine) - A circulated coin where all the fine detail is present, but not the 'minute' detail and signs of wear and tear to its higher points make it obvious that it has been in circulation but only minimally.
