NEW NATIONAL SIDE OF EURO CIRCULATION COINS

(2005/C 61/07)

Euro circulation coins have legal tender status throughout the euro area. The Commission publishes all new euro coin designs (1) with a view to informing anyone required to handle coins in the course of their work and the public at large. In accordance with the Council conclusions of 8 December 2003 (2), Member States and countries that have concluded a Monetary Agreement with the Community providing for the issuance of euro circulation coins are allowed to issue certain quantities of commemorative euro circulation coins on condition that not more than one new coin design is issued per country per year and that only the EUR 2 denomination is used. These coins have the technical features of normal euro circulation coins, but bear a commemorative design on the obverse national side.

Issuing State: Austria

Subject of commemoration: 50th anniversary of the Austrian State Treaty

Factual description of the design: The outer ring bears the twelve stars of the European Union. The inner part shows a reproduction of the signatures and seals from the last page of the Austrian State Treaty, signed in May 1955 by the Foreign Ministers and the Ambassadors of the Soviet Union, Great Britain, USA and France, and the then Austrian Foreign Minister Leopold Figl, with the inscription ‘50 JAHRE STAATSVERTRAG’ above the seals, running along the upper edge of the inner part in a quasi-semicircle slightly tilted to the right. At the bottom left is the year of issue, 2005. The vertically-striped background of the inner part depicts the heraldic representation of the Austrian national colours (red-white-red).

Issue volume: max. 7 million

Approximate issue period: from 11 May 2005

(1)  See OJ C 373 of 28.12.2001, pp. 1-30 for a reference to all national sides that were issued in 2002.

(2)  See conclusions of the General Affairs Council of 8 December 2003 on changes in the design of national sides of euro coins. See also Commission Recommendation of 29 September 2003 on a common practice for changes to the design of national obverse sides of euro circulation coins (OJ L 264 of 15.10.2003, p. 38-39).