Croatia to introduce the euro in 2023

[chrisild]

Of course I am glad the UK finally left the EU and never joined the euro area. But this topic is, for a change, not about the UK but Croatia.

[chrisild]

Photos of the coin production. Link shamelessly stol---borrowed from a post by coinosseur at muenzen.net.

https://www.croatiaweek.com/photos-minting-of-croatian-euro-coins-starts/

[redlock]

(Side note: Maybe the Croatian mint can make a few more pieces? Then ship some of them to Belgium where production and distribution of certain denominations seem to be much more difficult ...)

I had the same idea 

[eurocoin]

The coins seem to have a kind of matte effect, which the current Croatian coins also have. I do not really like that. As Croatia is a somewhat popular vacation destination, I hope to get a full set from circulation relatively quickly. Despite all of the coin roll hunting, the coins of the euro countries that joined after 2002 remain really hard to find, and I have still not been able to find all denominations of Estonia (which introduced the euro in 2011) and Lithuania (in 2015). Only recently I managed to complete the set of Malta, which introduced the euro in 2008.

[Figleaf]

I tried to do something similar for my granddaughters and failed. In the end, I gave up and when I was at a coin event, bought some stuff, but there are still holes, some for common coins, while coins of smaller member states are in general well represented (Malta excepted), because I was in the country.

I tried to form a circle of collectors of euro coins from circulation a few years back. It didn't work, but other sites have pulled it off. If you want to give it another try, go right ahead. You'll get the support I am able to give and I may be able to convince others to join your project.

Peter

[Angus]

Article about first Croatian coins being minted with lots of photos: https://www.croatiaweek.com/photos-minting-of-croatian-euro-coins-starts/

[Angus]

Croatian coin designs published in the OJEU today: https://bit.ly/3fiWAsk

[chrisild]

In late Nov/early Dec people in Croatia can obtain starter kits with euro coins. You pay 100 kuna for one "consumer kit" which contains 33 euro and cent coins (all denominations, total value €13.28).

In the first two weeks after the euro introduction, i.e. during the first half of January, cash payments will be possible in both euro and kuna. The dual pricing policy, however, will continue until the end of 2023. That is also the period when many commercial banks will exchange HRK coins and notes.

The central bank (HNB) gives you some more time: The official redemption period for kuna coins is three years. Kuna notes can be redeemed without any deadline.

[chrisild]

In January and February 2023, national central banks of the other euro area member states will allow individual customers to exchange kuna notes for free. Guess that, as in previous cases, all NCBs will do that, but there will be limitations. In neighboring Slovenia for example, Banka Slovenije has a limit of 8,000 kuna per customer and day.

Also, the commission free exchange applies to the currently circulating paper money, not to coins. Finally, you cannot exchange invalid (expired) notes this way; those need to be taken or sent to the Croatian central bank (HNB). So far I have not seen similar news releases from other euro central banks; then again, the changeover period does not start until New Year's Day anyway. Keep in mind that this is an "extra service" provided by the Eurosystem; the HNB - see my previous post - has no such limitations.

[eurocoin]

Since July, the Dutch National Bank has sold 70 million leftover euro coins to Croatia. The coins mainly have denominations of 1 and 2 euro cent and 1 and 2 euro. It happens more often that the Dutch National Bank sells batches of leftover coins to other countries, although this is an exceptionally large quantity.

[Pabitra]

Are these sold at less than face value, including transportation and logistic costs?

[eurocoin]

Indeed less than face value, for a price that is derived from the cost of production according to the statement of the Dutch National Bank:

Sustainable action: Croatia reuses Dutch coins

The Netherlands sold almost 70 million coins to Croatia in the second half of the year. The reason was that, on the one hand, the Netherlands had had surpluses of specific denominations for some time. On the other hand, Croatia will join the eurozone on January 1. Therefore, it needs large amounts of euro coins. With the sale of our surpluses, the Netherlands can partly meet that need and prevent coins from being destroyed at the same time and new coins being minted elsewhere. 

DNB performs a number of currency tasks for the Dutch State. For example, DNB issues the coins and manages the state stock. DNB supplies coins to security transporters from the DNB Cash Center. They then take these to banks, ATMs and shops. Conversely, the carrier can deposit coins at DNB if the carrier has coins to spare. The coins returning from circulation come from the entire eurozone. The State Stock therefore includes coins from all euro countries. 

For some time now, the Netherlands has had surpluses of specific denominations, such as the 2 and 1 euro and the 2 and 1 euro cents. We also see surpluses of EUR 1 in particular in other countries. The Netherlands has 2 and 1 euro cents left over, because we no longer use them and we round cash till payments to 5 cents. In order to limit surpluses and prevent the waste of raw materials, DNB regularly sells coins to other countries. Conversely, in recent years, DNB has been minting intermediate denominations, from 50 to 5 euro cents, for which there is still a clear need. 

Croatia's entry into the eurozone provided an opportunity to sell a larger amount of coins at once. Croatia will soon need hundreds of millions of euro coins. It will beat that part on its own, but that takes time. For another part it buys these from the Netherlands and a few other euro countries, for a price that is derived from the production prices. That is on balance the most environmentally friendly. At some point, the Netherlands should have the coins destroyed, but that is no longer necessary. In this way, our currency surpluses still have a useful destination.

[chrisild]

Thanks for letting us know! Now I wonder what "other euro countries" are involved in such deals as well ...

[Angus]

[Angus]

Does the dot at the end of the year act as a sort of mintmark?  The logo of the mint appears to be a circle with a square in it.