1 euro cent

European Union[1]
Value	0.01 euro
Mass	2.30 g
Diameter	16.25 mm
Thickness	1.67 mm
Edge	Smooth
Composition	Copper-covered steel
Years of minting	Since 1999
Obverse
Design	Numerous variations, see below.
Designer	Various
Design date	Various
Reverse
Design	Globe with the EU-15 highlighted next to the denomination shown in Latin characters
Designer	Luc Luycx
Design date	1999

The 1 euro cent coin (€0.01) has a value of one hundredth of a euro and is composed of copper-covered steel. It is the lowest-value coin in the Eurozone; the next highest are the 2 and 5 euro cent coins. All euro coins have a common reverse and a country-specific (national) obverse. The coin has been used since 2002 and was not redesigned in 2007 as was the case with the higher-value coins.

History

The coin dates from 2001, when euro coins and banknotes were introduced in the 12-member eurozone and its related territories. The common side was designed by Luc Luycx, a Belgian artist who won a Europe-wide competition to design the new coins. The design of the 1- to 5-cent coins was intended to show the European Union's (EU) place in the world (relative to Africa and Asia), as opposed to the one- and two-euro coins showing the 15 states as one and the 10- to 50-cent coins showing separate EU states.

The national sides, then 15 (eurozone + Monaco, San Marino and the Vatican, who could mint their own), were each designed according to national competitions, though to specifications which applied to all coins, such as the requirement of including twelve stars (see euro coins for more). National designs were not allowed to change until the end of 2008, unless a monarch (whose portrait usually appears on the coins) dies or abdicates. This happened in Monaco and the Vatican City, resulting in three new designs in circulation (the Vatican had an interim design until the new Pope was selected). National designs have seen some changes due to new rules stating that national designs should include the name of the issuing country (Finland and Belgium both do not show their name, and hence have made minor changes).

As the EU's membership has since expanded in 2004 and 2007, with further expansions envisaged, the common face of all euro coins from the value of 10 cents and above were redesigned in 2007 to show a new map. The 1- to 5-cent coins, however, did not change, as the highlighting of the old members over the globe was so faint it was not considered worth the cost. However, new national coin designs were added: in 2007 for Slovenia; in 2008 for Cyprus and Malta; in 2009 for Slovakia; in 2011 for Estonia; in 2014 for Latvia; in 2015 for Lithuania; and in 2023 for Croatia. Andorra began minting its own designs in 2014 after winning the right to do so.

Design

The coins are composed of copper-covered steel, with a diameter of 16.25 mm, a 1.67 mm thickness and a mass of 2.30 grams. The coins' edges are smooth. The coins have been used from 2002, though some are dated 1999 which is the year the euro was created as a currency, but not put into general circulation.

Reverse (common) side

The reverse was designed by Luc Luycx and displays a globe in the bottom right. The then-fifteen members of the EU are lightly highlighted and the northern half of Africa and the western half of Asia (including the Middle East) are shown. Six fine lines cut diagonally behind the globe from each side of the coin and have twelve stars at their ends (reflective of the flag of Europe). To the top left is a large number 1 followed, in smaller text, by the words "EURO CENT". The designer's initials, LL, appear to the right of the globe.

Starting in 2017 coins from individual member states have started adjusting their common side design to a new version, identified by smaller and more rounded numeral "1" and longer lines outside of the stars at the coin's circumference.^[2]

Obverse (national) sides

The obverse side of the coin depends on the issuing country. All must include twelve stars (in most cases a circle around the edge), the engraver's initials, and the year of issue. New designs also have to include the name or initials of the issuing country. The side cannot repeat the denomination of the coin unless the issuing country uses an alphabet other than Latin (currently, Greece is the only such country, hence engraving "1 ΛΕΠΤΟ" upon its coins); Austria ignores this rule, engraving "EIN EURO CENT" on its coins.

State	Details	Years of minting	Image
Andorran euro coins	A Pyrenean chamois and a golden eagle.	2014–onward
Austrian euro coins	An Alpine gentian as a symbol of Austria's part in developing EU environmental policy. The words "EIN EURO CENT" (one euro cent) appear at the top with a hatched Austrian flag below with the date.	1999–onward
Belgian euro coins	FIRST SERIES: An effigy of King Albert II. To the right-hand side among the stars was the kings monogram, a letter "A", underneath a crown. The year is lower down, also among the stars.	1999–2007
	SECOND SERIES: A redesign to include the letters BE (standing for Belgium) beneath the monogram, which was moved out of the stars into the centre circle but still to the right of the King's renewed portrait. The date was also moved out and placed beneath the effigy and included two symbols either side (left: signature mark of the master of the mint, right: mint mark).	2008–2013
	THIRD SERIES: In 2013, Albert II abdicated, and Philippe of Belgium became King. Philippe subsequently replaced Albert on Belgian coins.	2014–onward
Croatian euro coins	A ligature for Glagolitic letters ⰘⰓ (HR) and the word "Hrvatska" ("Croatia"), accomplished by a checkerboard in the background, designed by Maja Škripelj.	2023–onward
Cypriot euro coins	Two Mouflons, a species of wild sheep on Cyprus that represents the island's wildlife. It includes, in a semicircle to the top right, the name of Cyprus in Greek and Turkish (ΚΥΠΡΟΣ and KIBRIS) each side of the date.	2008–onward
Estonian euro coins	A geographical image of Estonia and the word "Eesti" ("Estonia").	2011–onward
Finnish euro coins	FIRST SERIES: The heraldic lion of Finland found on the Coat of arms of Finland. It is a reproduction of a design by the sculptor Heikki Häiväoja and has been used by previous Finnish coins such as the 1 markka between 1964 and 2001. The first series included the initial of the mint master of the Mint of Finland, Raimo Makkonen (an M), on the bottom left side of the lion and the date to the left.	1999–2007
	SECOND SERIES: When the coins were redesign to meet the new design requirements, the initial was replaced by the mint's mint mark and moved to the left, with the letters FI (for Finland) sitting in the bottom right.	2008–onward
French euro coins	Marianne, the feminine representation of France, its state and its values. It is the most prominent representation of France and its ideals of liberty and reason, dating from 1848. The depiction is young and determined, embodying France's desire for a sound and lasting Europe. The letters RF (République française), stylised, appear to the right above the year.	1999–onward
German euro coins	An oak twig, an image carried over from the previous pfennig. The year and mint mark are shown at the bottom.	1999–onward
Greek euro coins	An Athenian trireme from the 5th century BCE used in ancient Greece. Below it is the denomination in Greek and above is the year.	2001–onward
Irish euro coins	The national emblem of Ireland, an Irish harp (the Cláirseach, see Clàrsach). Vertically on the left hand side is the word "Éire" (Ireland in the Irish language) and on the right-hand side is the date. The harp motif was designed by Jarlath Hayes.	2002–2015
Italian euro coins	A depiction of the Castel del Monte in Andria (Apulia) that was built in the 13th century by Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II. It includes the interconnected letters RI (Repubblica Italiana) below and the year above.	1999–2018
Latvian euro coins	A small coat of arms of the Republic of Latvia above the word LATVIJA (Latvia).	2014–onward
Lithuanian euro coins	The Vytis (symbol of the coat-of-arms) and the word "Lietuva", which means "Lithuania". The twelve stars, symbols of the EU, surrounds the Vytis.	2015–onward
Luxembourgish euro coins	A stylised effigy of Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg designed by Yvette Gastauer-Claire in consultation with the government and monarchy of Luxembourg. The name "Lëtzebuerg" (Luxembourg in Luxembourgish) and the year is written round the bottom of the coin.	1999–onward
Maltese euro coins	Depicts an altar of the prehistoric megalith Mnajdra temples. The temples were built in the fourth millennium BCE on the southern coast overlooking the sea. Beneath the depiction is the name Malta and the year.	2008–onward
Monégasque euro coins	FIRST SERIES: The coat of arms of Monaco with the name MONACO across the top of the coin's outer circle and the year across the bottom of the outer circle with the mint marks.	2002–2006
	SECOND SERIES: When Prince Albert II succeeded Prince Rainier III in 2005, the overall design was kept but the name and the year were moved within the circle to bring it in line with the new designs of the other coins that had changed significantly.	2006–onward
Dutch euro coins	A stylised profile of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands surrounded by the twelve stars and other dots, with the inscription "Beatrix Queen of The Netherlands" in Dutch around the edge. The date and mint marks are located at the bottom.	1999–2013
	SECOND SERIES: Following the accession to the throne of King Willem-Alexander, a new series of euro coins was issued depicting the effigy of the new Head of State.	2014–onward
Portuguese euro coins	The royal seal of 1134 (stylised "Portugal") surrounded by the country's castles and five escutcheons with silver bezants set in relation to the surrounding European stars, and is intended to symbolise dialogue, exchange of values and dynamics in the building of Europe. Between the castles are the numbers of the year towards the bottom and the letters of the name Portugal between the upper icons. The stars are inset on a ridge.	1999–onward
Sammarinese euro coins	FIRST SERIES: The third of the Three Towers of San Marino; Montale. In a semicircle above the tower to the right are the words San Marino and to the left, the date. The mint marks are shown to the lower right.	2002–2017
	SECOND SERIES: The official coat of arms of the Republic of San Marino, the City Gate and the Church of St Quirinus, respectively.	2018–onward
Slovak euro coins	Kriváň, a notable peak of the Tatra mountains. Kriváň symbolises Slovakia's sovereignty. Below is the name SLOVENSKO (Slovakia), then the year and the coat of arms of Slovakia with the mint marks either side.	2009–onward
Slovenian euro coins	A stork, a motif taken from the former 20-tolarjev coin by Janez Boljka. Between each star round the right-hand edge are the letters SLOVENIJA (Slovenia) with the date after it to the upper left.	2007–onward
Spanish euro coins	FIRST SERIES: The Obradoiro façade of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, a prime example of Spanish Baroque architecture started in 1667 by Jose del Toro and Domingo de Andrade and completed in the 18th century by Fernando Casas y Novoa. The cathedral, which is Romanesque and dates from 1128, is a major pilgrimage destination. The name España (Spain) is shown to the top left and the top left five stars are indented on a raised area, inverting the effect of the rest of the coin. The date is shown to the top right.	1999–2009
	SECOND SERIES: In 2010 the raised area around the stars was removed.	2010–onward
Vatican euro coins	FIRST SERIES: An effigy of Pope John Paul II. The name CITTA DEL VATICANO (Vatican City), followed by the year and mint mark, was written in a break between the stars below.	2000–2005
	SECOND SERIES: Following the death of John Paul II in 2005, a new coin was issued during the Sede vacante until a new Pope was chosen. This contained the insignia of the Apostolic Chamber and the coat of arms of the Cardinal Chamberlain.	2005–2006
	THIRD SERIES: When Pope Benedict XVI was elected, his effigy appeared on the coins, with the name of the city now broken to his top right with the year and mint mark in the middle to his right.	2006–2013
	FOURTH SERIES: In 2014 the coins were updated with the election of Pope Francis. CITTA DEL VATICANO is written around the top, broken by Pope Francis' head, with the date below the O in Vaticano.	2014–2016
	FIFTH SERIES: After the announcement that Pope Francis would not appear on any coins issued by the Vatican, a new series of euro coins were issued to depict the papal coat of arms of Francis.	2017–onward

Planned designs

Austria, Germany and Greece will also at some point need to update their designs to comply with guidelines stating they must include the issuing state's name or initial, and not repeat the denomination of the coin.

In addition, there are several EU states that have not yet adopted the euro, some of them have already agreed upon their coin designs; however, it is not known exactly when they will adopt the currency, and hence these are not yet minted. See enlargement of the eurozone for expected entry dates of these countries.

Usage

The one- and two-cent coins were initially introduced to ensure that the transition to the euro was not used as an excuse by retailers to heavily round up prices. However, due to the cost of maintaining a circulation of low-value coins by business and the mints, Belgium, Finland, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands and Slovakia round prices to the nearest five cents (Swedish rounding) if paying by cash, while producing only a handful of those coins for collectors, rather than general circulation.^[4] Despite this, the coins are still legal tender and produced outside these states, so if customers with one-cent coins minted elsewhere wish to pay with them, they may.^[5]

The Nederlandsche Bank calculated it would save $36 million a year by not using the smaller coins. Other countries such as Germany favoured retaining the coins due to retailers' desire for €1.99 prices, which appear more attractive to the consumer than €2.00 (psychological pricing).^[5] According to a 2021 Eurobarometer survey of citizens across the Eurozone, 67% of respondents were in favor of the removal of the 1 and 2 cent coins and rounding of prices; with over 75% in Finland, Ireland, Italy and Slovakia. All countries in the eurozone showed a plurality of people in favor of the abolishment.^[3]

Nicknames

In Flemish, the 1- to 5-cent coins have the nickname koper (copper), ros (redhead) or rostjes (little redhead) due to their colour. In Portugal, the 1-cent coin gained the nicknames botão (button), feijão (bean) and pretos (blacks) due to its small size, colour and value: instead of gambling with real money, buttons sometimes are used. In Italy 1, 2 and 5 cents coins are called "ramini" or "bronzini", meaning respectively "little coppers" and "little bronzes". In Ireland they are also known as "coppers".