Luxembourg 2011: Charlotte - Jean - Henri

[chrisild]

The commemorative €2 coin that Luxembourg issues in 2011 will be dedicated to Grand Duke Jean, the father of Grand Duke Henri (present head of state). In a few days, Jean will be 90 years old - he was born on 5 January 1921. So the coin that comes out later this month could be considered a birthday anniversary coin. But the piece will show Jean's predecessor Charlotte and his successor Henri. Why?

Well, Henri as the head of state is depicted on all coins from Luxembourg. But Charlotte being depicted "hints" at another occasion: 50 years ago, in April 1961, Jean was appointed Lieutenant Representative. Literally the French lieu-tenant means place/position holder - here it means that, while Charlotte was still Grand Duchess (until she abdicated in 1964), Jean would already take her position in many regards.

"The Grand Duke may be represented by a blood-related prince who will bear the title of Lieutenant to the Grand Duke and reside in the Grand Duchy. This representative will take an oath to observe the Constitution before exercising his powers (Article 42 of the Constitution). The Grand Duke thus delegates his powers, and this acting capacity can be temporary or permanent. The powers of the Lieutenant Representative are limited by this mandate, and the measures he takes by virtue of his mission have the same effect as if they were issued by the Grand Duke himself. However, the Grand Duke is free to apply any restrictions to the mandate he deems necessary." See http://www.gouvernement.lu/publications/download/grandducalfamily.pdf (page 97)

Apparently the 50th anniversary of him becoming Lieutenant-Représentant is the occasion of this issue. Mintage will be 700,000; there will be 7,500 coin cards and some pieces will be in the BU (7,500) and proof (1,500) coin sets. Image to follow later.

Christian

[Bimat]

I saw its image somewhere and IMO all the Luxembourgian designs so far (excluding treaty of Rome and EMU) are more or less identical. As a type collector, I have to get a copy but they are really getting more and more boring

Good to see somewhat higher mintage figures. Last year many collectors were calling it a 'good investment piece' thinking that it would follow the same path as Finland 2004 or Slovenia Treaty of Rome, but the prices fell down miserably in few months. I even know some cases when it was sold for over €16 per piece and it was possible to get the same piece below €8...

Aditya

[chrisild]

As for the image, I did and do have one on my computer, but when I tried posting the message ... upload folder and all. So off to Picasa, and voilà:



A little blurry; then again the €2 commems from LU are, as you wrote, not exactly thrilling anyway. So what do we have here? Charlotte on the left, Jean in the middle, Henri on the right, and the three names at the bottom. The coin is minted by the KNM (Royal Dutch Mint) and should come in late January/early February.

Christian

[Figleaf]

You have to wonder what they'll think of next to keep up the pace of a commemorative deuro/year. Luxembourg is divided into 3 districts, which are further divided into 12 cantons and then 116 communes. Maybe there are possibilities there?

Peter

[chrisild]

Could be an option, yes. Well, if you look at their collector coins, Luxembourg does have quite a few interesting series and issues. But those are all fairly expensive ...

As for the designs of the commemorative €2 coins, blame the European Union, and blame the (or some) euro area countries. On one hand we have the "rule" that the ring of a euro coin, including the commems, has to display the Stars of Europe as they appear on the flag. While I fully agree with and support the idea of using the stars - we already have them on the common sides. Why not arrange them in a circle there? Then the other side could in its entirety be used for the country specific design.

This way we would also have more space for "mandatory" elements. A small portrait of Henri could then appear somewhere on the obverse of such a commemorative €2 coin. Would not look "tiny" but would leave enough room for the main design so to say.

Then again, some member states seem to prefer those somewhat monotonous designs. It is Luxembourg's decision to show the head of state of each coin, just as it is Ireland's decision to use the harp and nothing else (except for the country name and year) on their circulation coins ...

Christian

[Ukrainii Pyat]

I think they did better back in the early days, with Charlotte anyway. 



She was fairly attractive for a royal.

[chrisild]

Partly because she was popular, partly because of her looks, but also because she did not insist on being depicted on every coin.

Christian

[Bimat]

By the way, you can buy rolls of this issue directly from bank, but you will have to pay a premium of €7 (€57 for roll of 25 coins). So in strict sense, coins issued in rolls are NCLT only, so the only coins that will circulate would be those which bank puts in circulation (very less because of hoarding by collectors, dealers)..

You can still buy rolls of some of the earlier issues:(for €57 each)

https://eshop.bcl.lu/T/catalogue_page/m/1/id_cat/1.html

Aditya

[Bimat]

The official issue date is February 3. BU set (contains 9 coins) will be issued on the same day, along with the coincard (which contains only the €2 CC..)

Aditya

[chrisild]

Thanks for the update. Well, I don't find the design thrilling, but I guess I must have this coin too.

Christian

[chrisild]

Don't have that coin yet, but it has an interesting feature: The outer part of the pill, towards the ring, has the full country name (Grand Duchy of Luxembourg) in "microprinting" - apparently in three languages: Luxembourgish, French and German. Attached is an image from the central bank's website; a (somewhat) larger photo is here: http://www.bcl.lu/fr/media/communiques/2011/01/euro_2/2_eur.JPG

Update: I got a piece, and yes, the name in microprint looks neat.

Christian

[chrisild]

Took some photos of the trilingual micro text. OK, you may still say that all in all the Luxembourg themes are not thrilling. But this design I am beginning to like.

Christian

[chrisild]

Same coin, different photo. You cannot read all the text here, but yes, the country name is in Luxembourgish, French and German ...

Christian

[Figleaf]

Thanks, Christian. Got to get used to that ... banknote safety features on a coin ... well, why not. If we can have text only commemorative coins and legends making pictures, why not legends making patterns.

Still, got to get used to it...

Peter